2022-09-17: Deculture Festival - The Millympic Games
- Log: 2022-09-17- Deculture Festival- The Millympic Games
- Cast: Milly Ashford, Mana, Sheryl Nome, Rin Starking, Neo Getter Team, Ranka Lee, Alto Saotome, Gemini Sunrise, Nunnally Lamperouge, Rikka Takarada, Emilia Eschonbach, Sousuke Sagara, Yuta Hibiki, Kallen Kozuki, Alouette Pommier, Akane Shinjo (and her friends Ako Furuma and Ramo Marusa), Euphemia li Britannia
- Where: Jindai High School
- OOC - IC Date: 0096-09-17
- Summary: The capstone event of the GUTS Deculture Festival, held at Jindai High -- full of twists, turns, and surprises!
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
It's the final day of the Deculture Festival -- a truly massive event, and one that, all told, Milly is fairly happy to have serve as the legacy of her extended stay at Ashford. It definitely seems to have gotten some people thinking about what they can do with their present and their future -- and that's a reassuring thought for Milly, even if...
"All right, everyone! You've really given it your all for this whole event," Milly -- clad in a red and pink riding dress with an unnecessarily large hat, today -- starts, her voice booming over the speakers. "And today we're going to see it off with a bang! This is the final official GUTS activity..."
Pointing forward with a riding crop, she announces, "And clubs chosen by each member of the winning team will have their budgets for the remainder of the school year matched to the Ashford Academy Equestrian Club's!"
This only has actual context for Ashford students -- but the Ashford students in particular immediately begin losing their shit, because that's a budget in the high five digits. (For the Equestrian Club, well: horses aren't cheap and in the Universal Century they're a profound extravagance, which means a lot of it is tied up in -- well -- horses. For another club with fewer obligatory expenses this is an unreasonable amount of money.)
Once schools start talking to each other and contextualizing this honestly insane outlay everyone starts losing it -- which means Milly has to raise her voice and say, "HOLD ON A SECOND, PEOPLE! I know the budget is exciting but you have to let me introduce our targets -- I mean heroes."
"Enduro!" An MR-1 kitted out with cool racing stripes skids across the field. Someone pops out, and it's none other than -- Ashford's Rivalz Cardemonde, in his usual riding gear, goggles and helmet and all! He gives a big grin and a wave across the field; he's just happy to be helping out. ("Remember, Rivalz, if I'm impressed with you out there, I'll find a couple more at-large members to take the burden of paperwork off you and Lelouch, and I won't ask questions about where the two of you sneak off to with your newfound free time.")
"Psyche!" An RK-92 Savage trundles along, and the cockpit pops for just a moment to reveal Shirley Fenette, also of Ashford. She's not very far out of the cockpit, because Milly insisted on choosing her pilot suit. Most people don't get a big glimpse of it, but the school executive seats get to see the full effect of a decidedly vacuum-packed gymnast and swimmer. ("Hmm. She was a ten last year," Milly murmurs, absently tapping her crop against her leg. "I might need to recalibrate the scale.")
"Thundercracker!" A garishly-painted Zenith in nearly every color of the rainbow plod-plod-plods its way across the pitch, and out pops --! Tsutsujidai High School's Ako Furuma, still wearing her ... equally garish stadium jumper. ("Thanks for helping out on such short notice," Milly had told her. "... not sure what you get out of it with no club of your own, but!")
"Mallard!" A Type 96 brightly splashed with color stomps out across the field, before the head pops down with a hiss to allow the pilot to make himself known. It's the head of Jindai High School's embattled martial arts club, Issei Tsubaki, his long green hair held up by a headband and back in a ponytail. His eyes are indistinguishable, because of a pair of sports goggles with an ENORMOUS prescription. ("I'm gonna trust you to make this one exciting~" Milly had enthused. "If I'm really satisfied I might help you renovate that building of yours, too.")
"All right people! I expect our competitors to be good sports, win or lose -- and to fight like your school depends on it! And remember:"
"Show! Me! Your! GUTS!"
Only then does Milly stretch out and recline in her seat in the executive box. "Let's see if we get our deposits on any of these back," she says, with the full knowledge that the answer is probably 'hell no.'
Armor of the Week teleports in.
KTS: Armor of the Week has deployed in Deculture Festival MR-1. KTS: Kaiju Navi has deployed in Deculture Festival MR-1. KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad has deployed in Deculture Festival MR-1.
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
From the stands:
Nina Einstein sits just behind the rest of the executive suite with an extremely expensive laptop, which she tap-tap-taps away at. "All right -- monitoring is green," she says, quietly. "We should have accurate pressure readings from all sensors..."
-=-=-
Ramo Marusa -- 'Marusan' to her friends -- sits in the bleachers with the Tsutsujidai contingent, holding with a drink caddy with... no drinks in it! Instead it's being used to carefully prop up a phone and a tablet, connected to each other by a cable. "It's kind of crazy that they got a battleship-grade comms repeater just to make sure we could stream this to any friends who didn't make it..." she says, a little bewildered. "How's the angle, Akane?"
Akane, on the tablet screen facing out, affirms, "It's pretty okay. Can you tilt me down like five degrees?"
-=-=-
A shock of pink hair in a trenchcoat, sunglasses, and a surgical mask sits in the corner of Ashford's seats, sniffling and sneezing. (She's plenty conscientious; there's three meters between her and any non-sick students.)
<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.
Mana is...
...
Not competing! But she is present, because of course she is; right up in front, with her normal visor and eyepiece replaced with binoculars in case she needs them. Right now, however, they are up on her forehead, nestled up next to the kerchief, because she doesn't.
Mana has, mostly by asking a lot, gotten herself added to the mechanic crew in case something went horribly wrong, which incidentally gets her a pretty good place to watch from, though that wasn't on her radar when she volunteered. Honestly, she just wanted to poke at the robots. So she's brought some gear with her, most of which is in a pack but some of which is shoved in the (many) pockets in her pants, wrenches and screwdrivers and a few less obvious choices. There's a pen clipped at the lowest point of her neckline and a clipboard resting on her knees, though she's not actually taking any notes.
She is beaming even though she is not driving anything today. Go figure.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
The final day of the Deculture Festival. It's astonishing to Sheryl to think that it'd begun only a few weeks ago on one of the beaches of the Macross Frontier. Now she's out here in her gym clothes (a white T-shirt tied up and off under her chest, an excellently supportive sports bra, cyan sports shorts, and highly competitive sneakers), listening to Milly announce its end with the final event. Whether Sheryl has the time to help put on another Deculture Festival next year, this really was an incredible event, and she's genuinely glad she had a chance to be a part of it. 'Normalcy' is a rare commodity in the life of a diva.
As the robots and their "heroes" are introduced, Sheryl stretches, arms high over her head. She's already limbered up before the event--it's very important to stretch before any major physical activity--but it gives her something to do while she's waiting.
"Are either of you in a club?" she wonders to her teammates, Alto and Ranka. "I'm in a program but I haven't had the time to join a club." It sounds like the whole budget thing is exciting, anyway, so maybe she'll pick the club of someone she likes. Or for a program she supports. The Fantasy Seduction Club sure is fun. o/`
Ah, there's the call to get out there! Sheryl, as the captain of the Mihoshi Tri-Stars, strides with radiant confidence out onto the field, shoulders high like a Queen's, her dazzling smile accenting her double-handed waves out to the audience. She strides out to the appropriate spot on the Jindai High Fields, and there she half-turns to face her fellow Tri-Stars, one hand on her hip.
"So what're we here to do today, Mihoshi Tri-Stars?" she declares, ostensibly to them, but loud enough for the crowds. This is underlined when she pumps a fist into the air without waiting for a response. "Win!!"
<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
RIN STARKING, elite pro gamer, is wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt in a sensible khaki with a colorfully scruffy cat on the left breast. On the back, ornate text declares simply and stoutly:
ARTHURS
With a larger version of the scruffy cat.
She has her hands on her hips as she contemplates. Taking in a deep breath she begins to say "holy---"
And then with force exhale, "POOP, that is more than just a little money." She turns on one heel to face the other two members of her team. "That is a POOP load of money," she says quietly, reaching over to clasp both of them on the shoulders.
"I want you both to know that whatever we do, we're going to get out there and we're going to leave it all on the field and, I guess,in the cockpits of our suits, and soaking our clothing, and possibly soaking into bandaging or gauze packed into our open wounds," Rin tells her team-mates. "We're going to look back on today and we're not going to have any regrets. Because in the final analysis, the real winners will be the ones who score the most points."
A beat passes.
"And I'm really hoping that's us," Rin continues, "because, between you and me, and keep it quiet here, I'm still a little salty that I got dumpstered so hard by that sweet-eyed boy from Tsutsujidai after I got that entire costume set up. I'm just being open because I need a moment. Hold on."
Rin fishes a little pill case out of her pocket and pops a tablet into her mouth. After a moment she dry-swallows it and breathes out.
"I'm better now," Rin avers to her team-mates. "Knight's honor."
<Pose Tracker> Neo Getter Team has posed.
The clear favourites for this final event, now arriving on the scene, are the team battling on their home turf, the students from Jindai - Sousuke Sagara, Gemini Sunrise, and their captain, Sho Tachibana, their team named Akai Jindai for the hair colour of the two girls on the team. Sousuke has been furnished with a red bandana and scarf so that he matches.
Sho is standing confidently in the waiting area on the Athletics Field, wearing her official NISAR pilot suit, red with white armouring and yellow piping. She's already eyeing up the four units Milly has organised the deployment of, thinking. She glances left and right to her teammates. "Let's do our best, and show everyone what Jindai's made of."
================
In the stands: Two dorks who don't go to any school, but are here because they're Sho's co-pilots.
"Oh wow." Go Ichimonji grins. "This last event's a robot fight, huh? Man, that's gonna be messy." He seems pretty hopped up for the idea of Giant Robot Violence.
"I wish we were out there with her," Gai Daido says with concern, "but I stole a peek at the roster forms and I don't think either of us would be a help to her."
"Well, we're here to back her up, right? That was your idea."
"Mm." The larger young man hands Go a hot dog from the collection of concessions he's carrying. "Even if she's the only one of us participating, we're a team. How'd you feel if she and I weren't here to cheer you on?"
"Eh, I'd handle it. Been on my own most of my life." Go blows it off, arms behind his back.
"You dumbass monkey." Gai gets a glare from his copilot for that but hushes him up. "Look, the other teams are coming out too!"
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
So here's the thing. Ranka non-stop prepped for her concert for the past two weeks. And she only barely made it. It came down to the wire.
She's had absolutely no time for pilot training. At most she just frantically skimmed the manual.
There may be a lot of internal screaming right now. Because she's on a team with Sheryl and Alto, and she doesn't want either of them to see her FAIL that badly. Even if it's just a school festival event. When Milly Ashford indicates though that the winners can pick the club to sponsor for a budget increase.
Her hair just leaps on either side, before falling back into place, as she puts a hand over her mouth, "Oh gosh." She knows very well which club she'd like to have that - and it's not even her own school's club. She really, really wants to win badly for their sake. She just doesn't know if she can!!! She just knows she's going to be a huge embarrassment out there.
"I haven't really had time..." Ranka laughs nervously at Sheryl's question, "... I transferred in just before you, and I've been so busy."
Little does she know Sheryl has the same idea as her. Fortunately, Sheryl exudes all the confidence she does not, as she strides out after her, trying her best not to disintegrate and be blown away like a pile of dust. Ranka tries to smile and wave at the audience, it's possible - even probable in her mind that she has supporters today??? Maybe a good number even?
She's still trying to wrap her head around that.
What're we here to do today?
"Compete?" Like she didn't get that it was not in fact a question, but as Sheryl answers with the correct answer, "Oh-Win!" As she hurriedly makes a small fist and pumps it too, probably a whole two seconds after Sheryl.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto was not especially interested in taking part in this final event. He might be a pilot and certainly a bit of a fanboy when it comes to Valkyries, but he's never had a whole lot of interest in other types of mobile weapons. Unfortunately, amongst the students that frequently represent Mihoshi Academy in the GUTS program, he's the only one with any level of real piloting experience beyond sims. Which makes him the perfect choice to represent their school. Which means he didn't have much choice. Especially when the team captain insisted he do so because it would be fun.
As such, Alto is here today in his normal SMS flight suit. Though he has not included the helmet, figuring it likely won't be necessary. He watches Milly introduce the event and their opponents today. He's actually surprised by a couple of them, not expecting them to be the types to be in the cockpit. But then he reminds himself this is far from a live combat scenario.
At the question of clubs, Alto flatly replies back, "EX-Gear Stunt Club." Probably not a surprise to the two, though they may not have known it was an actual club.
The time comes for their introduction though, Alto following his team members out. Definitely not striding like Sheryl, but probably looking more solid in his steps than Ranka apparently is. His attitude is more 'let's get this over with' than anything. Which is why when Sheryl tries to psyche them up he gives her a bit of a stare. Before finally just slowly raising a fist with even greater delay than Ranka. Hooray team spirit!
Eight York teleports in.
POT: Eight York is now set observer.
<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.
Gemini, unable to wear her pilot suit for obvious secret identity reasons, is merely dressed in her gym clothes, a loose t-shirt and red shorts. She's also currently busy hyping herself up, engaging in a bit of shadow boxing as she also checks out the units on the field. They were certainly no STAR Vs, but they looked similar enough that she should have no problem with them. "I'm ready whenever y'all are!"
==========
In the stands, near the back of Jindai's section, sat a very important looking man and his equally important looking assistant. They're both clapping quite politely, and stand out a bit among the other Jindai spectators.
"Ah, it's wonderful to come planetside and get a bit of fresh air every once in a while, isn't it Ratchet?"
"You can say that again, Mr. Sunnyside. Though I'm surprised you decided to come down to cheer Gemini on with me."
"Well, everyone needs a day off now and then, and I'm no different. And after hearing how well our Yellow Rose did at the pageant, I've got to see her in action for myself!"
<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.
Besides Nina Einstein sits another member of the student council -- though Nunnally isn't monitoring any laptops, obviously. They've all made sure her wheelchair is properly accommodated, up here. "I know you'll be able to catch everything!" She encourages Nina, sunnily, before she sucks in a breath and waves above her head --
"DO YOUR BEST, EVERYONE!!"
Nunnally might not be able to see what they're all up to, but she can still cheer them on.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
The Millympic Games... Rikka's a little nervous about this! When it comes down to it, she's not the best pilot - she's always used to receiving support from the NGJHS when piloting, so the amount of times she's done so unassisted is fairly low. That's actually part of why she agreed to participate - she could use the extra practice in a safer environment.
It's hard to call it 'casual' or 'low tension', though. From what she's gathered, whenever the possibility of a budget increase is uttered, Ashford gets intense.
Before she goes out on the field, Rikka takes a moment to address her team.
"Okay... today's the day. I guess... I should probably say something like a captain would, huh?" Rikka says. She hadn't really prepared for getting named the team captain - it takes a moment for her to think of something.
"Alright, so... The only thing on the line today is winning the competition. There's no one we need to save or to protect. So let's do our best and try to have fun this, alright?" Rikka says. "...But, that's not to say I don't want to win, either. I figure a lot of people out there in the audience probably don't expect much out of us. Don't get too reckless, but let's give them something to think about, okay? I've seen what both of you can do, and our bonds as a team are second to none. I know we can do this - let's show them what the Tsutsujidai Alliance is made of."
Utsumi probably had made than a little input into that name. But, with that said, Rikka exhales.
"Okay. Let's get out there and give them hell." She says, and, with a nod, strolls out onto the field. She gives the audience a wave as she takes into her position. She has to resist the urge to wave at Ako, too, to avoid potential calls of collusion, but she does send a brief smile her way.
Rikka's outfit today is a pilot suit in the Tsutsujidai uniform colors that her mother somehow managed to procure for her(it's a public event, so it's not like she has to be secretive about it, unlike with Gridman Alliance business)... though Rikka's has the Junk Shop Aya's logo printed on it, too. It's apparently hard to pass up a good opportunity for advertisement.
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
Emilia Eschobach is trying her level best to be ready for another competition. It's not working. She's wearing the the team t-shirt, and black skorts and gym socks and sneakers. It also means she is in the eyeline of Milly, which she's been avoiding with work.
She's listening to Rin's speech and when she mentions being 'dumpstered', Emmy cringes. If Rin thinks she did badly... The whole thing is alot. Kallen's a winner already, and the best pilot amongst them. Emilia's a weak pilot, and came dead last in the pageant. "R-right." She's GOT to win here. It's her chance at redemption.
It might be what she needs to do to prove herself she's worthy of where she is.
She has no loud cries- but her emotions are plenty strong right now. They're not good.
<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.
Sousuke Sagara is just not much of an accessories person, but he has been firmly instructed that branding matters. And so, he stands in the waiting area for Akai Jindai. Much like Gemini he ALSO can't wear his pilot suit because it's an incredibly advanced piece of semi-secret military hardware, so he has settled for his own gym uniform, the one with the red trim they use for sports days.
The bandana is like WAY too long and catches the wind just as well as the scarf, three trails of crimson fluttering in a gentle breeze as he stands with arms crossed and face stern. (He was told this is important so he's just trying to imagine his old drill instructors.)
======
Meanwhile, also in Jindai's section, is a pair of adults, one of whom has a whole-ass beer she is gleefully chugging. "Fuck 'em up, Sousuke!!" one of those drill instructors calls out, Melissa Mao cheering loud.
The blond man next to her looks just slightly bewildered, nursing a soda from the concessions. "Where'd you even get that?"
Mao gives him a toothy grin that answers his question in full, a look of awe crossing his face. "C...can I have one?"
"No."
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Yuta's never really been in an athletic event before. Not an official one, anyway. But, as soon as Rikka mentioned participating, he was quick to sign up! Any time they can spend together is more than worth doing... whatever this is!
Maybe he should've asked a few more questions before committing...
"Right!" Yuta says to Rikka, cheerfully. Despite the tense atmosphere, he's doing his best to put on a brave face. "We're going to do our best!"
Much like Rikka, Yuta has only ever 'piloted' Gridman, always with the help of the Giant of Light, and usually with a NGJHS or two tagging along. He's spent time in Rikka's Synchrotank, though, sure. Piloting can't be THAT different. His outfit is a match to Rikka's, advertisement and all.
Yuta follows behind his team captain, smiling at the other competitors. It's too bad they couldn't bring out Gridman. He'd probably have enjoyed a fight without high stakes.
In the audience sits all four Neon Genesis Junior High Students. Borr has their feet up on the seat in front of them, crunching away at a box of snacks. "Some of these kids look kinda intense. You think our kids have a chance?"
Max barely fits in the stadium seats, looking supremely uncomfortable. "I would always bet on them."
"Hey, they're doing bets online. You want me to put you down for something?" Vit offers, not looking up from his phone.
Calibur is standing. He couldn't find a way to sit down without taking his swords off. "I -- I don't know if that's legal."
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
It's for the best the Rin is the team captain, because she'll probably be better at giving speeches. But as for Kallen, she's been sealed inside one of those vacuum-tight piloting suits like Shirley, accented with the same shade blue as her eyes. And a team t-shirt over top, still with the Arthur-shaped decoration.
She... has done precisely no piloting prep, aside from checking the type of machines being used. But on the other hand, perhaps one could say she OVERprepared. After all... She's one of the former queens of the Battling circuit, though the only people who could possibly know her from there... Well, that poofy-haired Meltran isn't here, now is she? And so far as she's been able to tell, nobody at these schools have been faces she remembers from those days.
She casts a glance over to Emmy... her nerves are written all over her face. So Kallen gives her shoulder a light pat. "You've got this. Just like we practiced." The practice in question of course, was NOT for this event, but combative piloting. And her training camp is woefully incomplete so far... But it's more than enough to beat kids who AREN'T professional pilots and fighters.
Shame half the other people here ARE actually that. But really, how could Kallen have known it ahead of time? ...Of course, for HER, that's only going to get her morale burning up higher. She's competitive to her core, and people who don't know that are probably about to be in for one hell of a rude awakening.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Alouette was absolutely not expecting to be out here at the Millympic games, but here she is.. Utsumi couldn't make it, so she received an invite to participate in his stead for Tsutsujidai's team. Thankfully, the higher-ups over at 3G didn't have a problem with it: she has fully-healed by now, and it's a safe, extremely low-risk way to get her footing back.
%Alouette is wearing a similar pilot suit to her teammates, Rikka and Yuta, except with the 3G Blue armband over top. No cast anymore, either! "Glad I could make it!" she smiles to her teammates. "You're right, even if I'm not from Tsutsujidai, we still make an excellent team. Let's show them that teamwork, shall we?"
The amount of people in the audience is overwhelming, and she expects some stares from people who recognize she doesn't quite belong there, but as she gets closer to the stands... that's Hana! "Go, Alouette go!" She cheers, waving a pair of pom-poms. "The Braves are cheering you on!" Alouette grins and waves back, feeling a lot more motivated knowing she has people rooting for her.
All that's left is to watch the rest of the teams make their entrances... they look like fearsome competition, but the Tsutsujidai Alliance won't fold so easily.
Mercenary Wing teleport in.
KTS: Mercenary Wing has deployed in Deculture Festival MR-1. <Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
The referee walks down to the field, in their black and white shirt. "Round 1 Contenders Ranka Lee, Sousuke Sagara, Rin Starking and Alouette Pommier: please proceed to the Alto UID 74 for the first two events!"
Contenders have 6 uses of spirit commands throughout the three events, shared between the team. There are no bonus points for saved spirit commands.
Bullseye requires contestants to take five attacks at the heroes with Attack 6 - ExAMACH Machine Gun Shot while the hero reacts. One point for each shot.
Contenders, ready?
<Pose Tracker> Armor of the Week has posed.
The first segment of the event is titled, quite simply, The Gauntlet. Large-scale tires and other obstacles have been strewn across a part of the athletic field, and the goal is simple: get to the other side.
Unfortunately, Mallard and Thundercracker stand at the front, and at the rear, Psyche waits to drag her targets underground! (Metaphorically.) (We hope. There is probably not a sinkhole under the Jindai athletic field.) (But man, wouldn't that be mythologically comedic???)
All of them, for the moment, have heavy, lightly-padded shields ready to shove their opposition around. While the Altos are a fair bit larger than any of the units the Gladiators have, that doesn't make them totally safe, either!
At the far back, beyond the short course itself, Enduro's MR-1 rocks back and forth on its landspinners, waiting to be shot at in the first core game: Bullseye. A MULS-P2 paint marker has been helpfully provided and labeled at the end of the course for each participant, loaded with five rounds! Enduro only has about a three meter wide space to work with, though... that's not a lot of room for a KMF to do anything but shift side to side.
("Just being a target dummy... sheesh! Is this over getting lost on Nouvelle Tokyo's train system?" Rivalz complains over the short-band comm in his MR-1.)
("You'll never know," Milly whispers into the microphone of her tablet.)
KTS: Ranka Lee has deployed in eEXM-17 Alto. KTS: Rin Starking has deployed in eEXM-17 Alto. KTS: Sousuke Sagara has deployed in eEXM-17 Alto. KTS: Alouette Pommier has deployed in eEXM-17 Alto. <Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
It's no surprise to Sheryl to hear that Ranka hasn't had the time to join a club yet either. She doesn't blame her for not really being ready for this event either--the performance she put on last night was worth it, and as a future songstress, you have to know where your priorities are. But Alto?
"The EX-Gear Stunt Club? That's an actual thing?" she wonders, blinking wide. Then she smiles broadly. "Well, this is your club's lucky day! Won't they love getting such a huge boost to their budget?"
Do they actually have a chance of winning? At the very least, Alto's an extremely good pilot. Whether one good pilot is enough to win an event like this when there are good pilots all over the schools, Sheryl genuinely doesn't know, but the foundation of the road to victory is the belief you can win. Ergo, she's going to act like they've already got this in the bag. Easy!
...Except for Ranka's nerves and Alto's total lack of enthusiasm. Sheryl generously lets the former slide and rolls her eyes at the latter. "You're the one who's getting something out of this. Could you at least pretend like you're invested?" she scolds him. "Otherwise we may as well just concede now!" She heaves a theatrical sigh, folding her arms under her bust. "Think of how disappointed everyone in your club is going to be when they hear Alto couldn't even muster up enough fighting spirit to try to win... Think of all their poor crushed little faces when their hero couldn't be bothered to show a tiny bit of enthusiasm! Oh, the humanity! Ranka, doesn't it just break your heart, too??"
Sheryl fake-sobs for a few seconds, then peeks at Alto with one eye to check to see how well said theatrics are working. (Also to admire him in that flight suit. Alto's already a handsome young man, but he doesn't have a strong sense of fashion. That flight suit, though? He makes it look good. Rawr~.) He doesn't need to buy it, he just needs to get a fire lighted under his butt. And if Ranka actually does get emotional too and lean on Alto from her direction, so much the better!
Ah, but the games are beginning, and Ranka's getting called up first. Sheryl looks over that way, then smiles over at Ranka. "All right, you're up! We'll be cheering you on from here, won't we, Alto? <3" If he isn't enthusiastic in his response, she'll elbow him until he is enthusiastic. Or at least gives Ranka some decent advice. Sheryl would, but she's only a rookie pilot herself. Despite everything, she knows how to stay in her lane.
Once Ranka does take the field, though, Sheryl gives her a bright, sunny wave and a smile--and then scopes out the competition, both on the field and still waiting to deploy. Hmmm... Who seems like the strongest competition in terms of skill--and who seems like they want to win the most?
KTS: Sousuke Sagara targets Rapid Reaction Squad with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Alouette Pommier targets Kaiju Navi with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Alouette Pommier's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot, taking 3600 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 192900 KTS: Sousuke Sagara enervates Rapid Reaction Squad, reducing its Morale significantly. KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad fails to react to Sousuke Sagara's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot, taking 3960 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Sousuke Sagara's Where'd He Go!? activates, causing Deject! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Sousuke Sagara's Battlefield Mastery activates, causing Control Bonus! KTS: Rin Starking has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Rin Starking targets Armor of the Week with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Armor of the Week fails to react to Rin Starking's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot, taking 3960 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Rin Starking's Punishment activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Rin Starking's Yomi activates, causing Designate L1! KTS: Rin Starking targets Armor of the Week with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Alouette Pommier has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Ranka Lee targets Armor of the Week with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Armor of the Week successfully avoids Rin Starking's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot KTS: Rin Starking targets Armor of the Week with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Sousuke Sagara targets Rapid Reaction Squad with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Armor of the Week successfully avoids Ranka Lee's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot KTS: Armor of the Week successfully avoids Rin Starking's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot KTS: Alouette Pommier targets Kaiju Navi with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad fails to react to Sousuke Sagara's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot, taking 3240 damage! KTS: Kaiju Navi successfully avoids Alouette Pommier's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot KTS: Rin Starking targets Armor of the Week with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Invalid queue number. KTS: Armor of the Week successfully avoids Rin Starking's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot KTS: Alouette Pommier targets Kaiju Navi with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Ranka Lee targets Armor of the Week with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Rin Starking targets Armor of the Week with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Sousuke Sagara targets Rapid Reaction Squad with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Armor of the Week successfully avoids Ranka Lee's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot KTS: Armor of the Week successfully avoids Rin Starking's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Alouette Pommier's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot, taking 2880 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 190020 KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad successfully avoids Sousuke Sagara's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot KTS: Invalid queue number. KTS: Alouette Pommier targets Kaiju Navi with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Alouette Pommier's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot, taking 2700 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 187320 KTS: Invalid queue number. KTS: Ranka Lee targets Kaiju Navi with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Sousuke Sagara targets Rapid Reaction Squad with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Ranka Lee's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot, taking 2700 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 184620 KTS: Invalid queue number. KTS: Ranka Lee targets Kaiju Navi with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Ranka Lee's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot, taking 3240 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 181380 KTS: Invalid queue number. KTS: Sousuke Sagara enervates Rapid Reaction Squad, reducing its Morale significantly. KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad fails to react to Sousuke Sagara's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot, taking 3960 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Sousuke Sagara's Where'd He Go!? activates, causing Deject! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Sousuke Sagara's Battlefield Mastery activates, causing Control Bonus! KTS: Ranka Lee targets Kaiju Navi with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Sousuke Sagara targets Rapid Reaction Squad with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad fails to react to Sousuke Sagara's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot, taking 3600 damage! KTS: Alouette Pommier has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Alouette Pommier targets Kaiju Navi with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Ranka Lee's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot, taking 3240 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 178140 KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Alouette Pommier's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot, taking 3240 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 174900 KTS: Invalid queue number.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
"Thanks for coming in on such short notice, Alouette. I'm glad to see you're all healed up now." Rikka replies to Alouette with a nod. It's a shame Utsumi couldn't make it... but, Alouette is also one of her trusted friends and teammates, so she's glad to have her.
"We are!" Rikka replies with a nod to Yuta, and then one to Alouette. "That's right - even if you're not from Tsutsujidai, you're still one of us."
The first competition is a gauntlet, where the contestants have to make it to the other side... Rikka has no doubt that Alouette will do great. Still, it makes her a little nervous at what they've cooked up for whenever it's her turn in the pilot seat.
...But, she can't think like that - if she's worried, it'll reflect in her piloting.
"You can do it, Alouette!" Rikka calls out, from where team members who aren't in the current round are spectating.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Yuta claps, cheering as Alouette goes to compete for her round. Mobile suits look so much bigger in this body! It's a little overwhelming, hearing and seeing the gunfire from so low. He glances at Rikka. If she doesn't seem bothered, Yuta won't be bothered either, he decides.
"You can do this! We believe in you!"
As each round progresses, Yuta glances between the competitors. It's kinda hard to tell who's in the lead. But it seems like Alouette is doing her utmost, and that's what matters.
<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.
Nunnally can hear the announcements, at least, and she clasps her hands to her chest as she gasps. "Ranka's competing, too..?" She turns her attention to Nina -- she can't really be said to look at her -- for confirmation, before she lifts her voice, again, waving a hand high in the air.
"RANKA, YOU CAN DO IT! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!"
Alouette Pommier 000
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
The obstacle course doesn't actually present too much of an obstacle for any competitor; Tsutsujidai carves through it neatly, with Mihoshi's Ranka Lee just behind. Jindai lags a little, and Ashford is last up at the Bullseye.
Enduro realizes that he is a street biker surrounded by people with double lives in fairly short order. This goes about as well as you can expect -- though after a few moments he starts to get into it; equally importantly, though, he has just a bit of foreknowledge of Rin's tendencies, because: Milly has sent him to check up on the Virtual Geography Club on a few occasions.
When all is said and done in Bullseye: Alouette and Sousuke have the best time of it, leaving Enduro's MR1 pretty painted in Tsutsujidai and Jindai's colors; Mihoshi Academy's Ranka Lee isn't far behind, either.
<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.
Mana doesn't have to be unbiased while she's not doing work, and absent an emergency, that won't be until after the event anyway.
"GO JINDAI," she yells, at top volume, followed by, "I BET TWENTY ON YOU AND THAT'S ALL I HAD SPARE SO DON'T MAKE ME GO BROKE!" She seems to be enjoying herself, at least. Even though she only knows one of the Jindai pilots much.
<Pose Tracker> Neo Getter Team has posed.
"Altos, huh? The submission form didn't describe the exact units we'd be using, but I guess they'll all be around that level." Sho thinks. "Keeps everyone on an even keel, which means it'll come down to our individual skills to push through. You've got this, right Sousuke?"
After the paintballing is done, Sho whistles appreciatively. "Damn good shots, Sagara!"
In the stands, Go huffs. "Aw man, I thought there was gonna be actual robot-on-robot action, this is just paintball."
"Eat your hot dog, Go. WOOOOOOOO, JINDAI!" Gai yells.
<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.
Gemini is hooting and hollering, pumping her fist as Sousuke dominates. "Yee-haw! You let them fancypants over at Ashford know ya can't mess with us!"
=====
"I'm not a...fancypants, am I, Miss Altair?"
"No comment."
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto's eyebrow twitches a little at the overly dramatic pressure Sheryl is trying to put on him. While it's not like his club really needs the money boost (the two main courses and related clubs that get priority funding are piloting and singing, given Mihoshi is on a Macross fleet) it would still certainly help.
Finally Alto breaks though, throwing his hands into the air, "Fine! I'll try, okay?"
Of course, first up is Ranka. Which makes trying just a little bit easier. He takes an elbow from Sheryl anyway, but nonetheless gives Ranka smile, "Piloting is a lot about instinct. Trust it and you'll do fine."
<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
Rin has no official experience with piloting anything other than an electric bicycle. Official experience.
She gazes at Emilia for a thoughtful moment. A moment becomes a moment longer. Rin then says to her, "Hey," with a smile. "Eschobach... I want you to know that I'm just talking stuff here. In my club they call it trash talk, or gamer words. I know you're gonna do your utmost. Do everything you can. Alright? We're gonna be in this together no matter what."
But the call is coming. Rin looks towards Kallen... and raises one hand to give her a somewhat playful girl-scout salute at the corner of the eye, followed by moving towards the rented mobile weapon, climbing inside. She's taking her glasses off to clean them, probably, when the cockpit closes...
Except that now that she's in relative privacy she tucks them into the top of her T-shirt.
"Alrighty," Rin says to herself, closing her eyes for a moment...
And then reopening them with a wide slash of a grin. "[:0124]Let's make it bleed."
FORWARD! "Kiiyaahahahahahaha!" Rin shouts, as she hits the obstacle course. And it is the obstacle course where Rin may have the greatest advantage, maneuvering with reckless force that is probably not going to do the frame any favors (but it's military surplus, right? it's tough, right?) while ducking and diving. A non-trivial portion of the slow down is that Rin throws the machine forwards, aiming to do something like a half-twist in the air before landing with a THUMP in a crouch, drawing out the weapon and taking aim from a half-leaned-back posture.
One handed grip, too.
"Perish in obscurity!" Rin declaims, before POP POP POP (pop pop) MAKIN REBS DROP; the shots fly outwards.
It almost works, because the first shot lands dead on with a royal-red SPLAT -- at which point, no doubt, Enduro understands what's going on and is able to take cover. By the time Rin has clearly cognited that Enduro has not simply stood there and died she is on shot #4; she brings the weapon upwards but it is, tragically, no good.
Well, it's slightly good. Rin's cheeks flush in the safety of the cockpit. Her official comment is: "..."
[:0124]Is it the gun!?
[:0124]Ugh. Shut up. Don't blame your tools
[:0124]At least it happened here, not...
She shivers slightly for some reason, but she calls out, "Nice~!" even so, and if anything it's a little more sugary than usual.
<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.
Sousuke's called to the Alto. He glances to his team, once in each turn, and at Sho's question, he says, "Won't be a problem," with his usual confidence. ExAMACS aren't exactly in constant use these days, but he spends much of his time familiarizing himself with the specifications of machines like this. He climbs aboard nimbly, flicks the controls into familiar configurations...good to go.
Then the signal! Mallard is his first problem, or, should, be? Sousuke's Alto ducks around with such precision that Mallard is left striking air when he tries to knock the Jindai Weirdo clear, while Sagara squeezes off a few shots down the range and hustles on past, leaving Mallard looking around like he dropped a contact lens. Sousuke leaves poor Tsubaki howling "SAGARAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" in the dust.
Sousuke manages to almost make it look like he's the hunter as he maneuvers nimbly through the defenders, firing away when he gets spare moments on Rivalz. He's quite good at this...but the way he goes about it is just a little roundabout, leaving him just slightly behind the lead when he clears the course.
At the end, he lets himself take a brief breath before shutting down. His face has that wisp of a smile he gets when he can be proud of himself as he returns to the team zone. "The rest is up to you," he says, with the kind of thumbs up you know he got from a movie.
<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
Rin has no official experience with piloting anything other than an electric bicycle. Official experience.
She gazes at Emilia for a thoughtful moment. A moment becomes a moment longer. Rin then says to her, "Hey," with a smile. "Eschobach... I want you to know that I'm just talking stuff here. In my club they call it trash talk, or gamer words. I know you're gonna do your utmost. Do everything you can. Alright? We're gonna be in this together no matter what."
But the call is coming. Rin looks towards Kallen... and raises one hand to give her a somewhat playful girl-scout salute at the corner of the eye, followed by moving towards the rented mobile weapon, climbing inside. She's taking her glasses off to clean them, probably, when the cockpit closes...
Except that now that she's in relative privacy she tucks them into the top of her T-shirt.
"Alrighty," Rin says to herself, closing her eyes for a moment...
And then reopening them with a wide slash of a grin. "Let's make it bleed."
FORWARD! "Kiiyaahahahahahaha!" Rin shouts, as she hits the obstacle course. And it is the obstacle course where Rin may have the greatest advantage, maneuvering with reckless force that is probably not going to do the frame any favors (but it's military surplus, right? it's tough, right?) while ducking and diving. A non-trivial portion of the slow down is that Rin throws the machine forwards, aiming to do something like a half-twist in the air before landing with a THUMP in a crouch, drawing out the weapon and taking aim from a half-leaned-back posture.
One handed grip, too.
"Perish in obscurity!" Rin declaims, before POP POP POP (pop pop) MAKIN REBS DROP; the shots fly outwards.
It almost works, because the first shot lands dead on with a royal-red SPLAT -- at which point, no doubt, Enduro understands what's going on and is able to take cover. By the time Rin has clearly cognited that Enduro has not simply stood there and died she is on shot #4; she brings the weapon upwards but it is, tragically, no good.
Well, it's slightly good. Rin's cheeks flush in the safety of the cockpit. Her official comment is: "..."
Is it the gun!?
Ugh. Shut up. Don't blame your tools
At least it happened here, not...
She shivers slightly for some reason, but she calls out, "Nice~!" even so, and if anything it's a little more sugary than usual.
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
Milly's a little sad to see Ashford come up short in the first round, but she's spent a lot of time familiarizing herself with the projected odds; her school spirit is undeterred. ... but to be honest, what she's really rooting for is their heroes! They aren't going to win but they are going to make impressive appearances in every event, and that's worth cheering.
-=-=-
Jindai High really hosts some lively events, the mysterious pinkhaired girl off in the corner of the bleachers thinks to herself. It's nice to see Area 11's Ashford Academy making such a good show of things, too; while she's not a Britannian partisan per se despite the demands of her position, there is something nice about seeing it participating in a cooperative international initiative with such enthusiasm.
-=-=-
"Huh. I guess what they say about Coordinators not getting sick and healing fast is pretty true... even if all she had was mild whiplash I wouldn't have expected her to make it to this, let alone put in that kinda performance," Akane murmurs. She makes a bit of a face, admitting, "... Still, if anyone's gonna win, I'm kinda hoping for our school..."
"Whiplash?" Marusan asks. (Unlike Akane, Marusan is perfectly comfortable concealing what she knows and where she found it out and is actually good at it.) "Still -- that's a solid run..." ... she's mostly watching Thundercracker, though.
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
The most team spirit, if Alto and her are any indication. Ranka can only imagine what the EX-Frame club could do with a bigger budget, Michael and Luca would be ecstatic. So there is in fact, a lot on the line!" As Sheryl scolds him though, Ranka's looks more anxious, as she puts her palms up, as if trying to deescalate this, "I'm sure Alto won't slack when it comes time for the event." Ranka says as she tries to appease Sheryl, "He's not the type. I'm looking forward to seeing your event too Sheryl. I'm sure you'll do great!"
Alto though... gives her advice, and Ranka's red eyes look at him in disbelief, "Really?" And suddenly there's a change in her, because Alto believes in her as she remembers, thinking someone like her can't do it... means she never will, "... I'll do my best!" Suddenly her fist pump is actually enthusistic. "Wish me luck, both of you!"
Ranka jogs on over towards her assigned unit waving to Ashford team (in particular Emilia and Kallen) as she goes, and spying Marusan in the audience - actually tries to wave at her too. She remembers her from that day in Tsutsujidai... and hearing Nunnally's call she starts to wave- until she remembers she can't see it.
She finds it vaguely strange that her unit is called an Alto. She hopes that's good luck for her.
Climbing into the Alto's cockpit, she tries to remember the controls from her quick skim. "Uh, let's see so I put my hands here. And this one was to move forwar-" Her Alto moves backward, then starts rotating in place. And Ranka quickly tries to adjust, as she cries out like she's scolding her Alto, "Please stop doing that!" A beat, "... Me!"
In a state of panic she reverses the control, and spins the Alto back around, but overcompensating. Then a minor adjustment and she takes off wildly, her Alto running past the obstacle course of defenders at an out of control sprint.
Seeing 'Enduro' passing by the reticle on her screen, she panics and with a squeal closes her eyes and pushes the first button that comes to mind - not remembering the manual at all. The paintball shot goes wide, eating its dust. As she peeks, with one eye open, seeing the Mihoshi colors on the field where her reticle was. "Wait. That was really it? -AH!" Ranka somehow whirls it around before she'd go truly out of bounds. It's actually doing what she wanted???
"Instinct. Instinct." A breath rattles, as she tries to remember Alto's words, then does a quick adjustment that she somehow pulls off this time, and fires off another shot. This one goes just wide too. "So if I just - a little less."
Suddenly her Alto is taking off running after the Enduro from its position and turns a corner sharply as she gets a bead on him, as she shouts, "Please hit! HYA!" And actually fires off three in quick succession, making small adjustments each time and... SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT!
Stunned for a second, her expression changes to delight as she shouts in excitement, "YIPEE! DECULTURE!" As she takes her hands off the controls and pumps a hand in the air in her cockpit...
... she thankfully realizes how to stop again just before she'd run into Rivalz.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
With enough pressure, Alto cracks. Sheryl smiles triumphantly in response, planting both hands on her hips. "You won't try. You'll win," she declares. She catches Ranka's eye and winks. "And of course I will! I'm Sheryl Nome!" she boasts. "Now get out there and show us what you're made of, Ranka!"
Sheryl of course watches her as she heads onto the field with Rin, Sousuke, and Alouette. Sousuke and Alouette do the best; Ranka, to her pleasant surprise, does quite respectably; and Rin finishes last. Sheryl takes this in with a competitor's eye. With this kind of showing in the first round, they might not be in the lead, but they're doing quite respectably. All they have to do is keep it up.
Which is of course not THAT helpful if the others also keep it up, but here's a tiny truth bomb: for all her boasting, Sheryl's nervous about this event. She wants to win, but more importantly, she wants to look good in front of Alto and Ranka. After all, she was the one who insisted they get together to form a team for this event in the first place.
Not an ounce of this shows on her face as she whoops, jumps, and waves over to Ranka in her Alto. "Great job, Ranka!! Really strong start out there!"
KTS: Sousuke Sagara's eEXM-17 Alto has been disabled. <Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
Emmy nods at Rin's second set of encouragement, and moves to the side with Kallen. She's still nervous. She is not surprised that Sousuke is good- this is clearly part of his part time security job. She didn't know what to expect with Alouette, but she did very well as well. The person who surprises her most is Ranka, though. She's a surprisingly good shot! And Rivalz is almost as good at dodging bullets as he is dodging work. Poor Rin, though..
This would be tough.
------
The referee re-enters the field, riding a black and white Wappa that the sellers must have thrown in with the booking. It's convenient for keeping up, though! "Contenders Sheryl Nome, Gemini Sunrise, Emilia Eschonbach and Yuta Hibiki: Please proceed to the Savage UID 313.
Contenders have 6 uses of spirit commands throughout the three events, shared between the team. There are no bonus points for saved spirit commands.
Duel requires contestants to take the following attacks in order against the Hero, who will guard: Attack 8 - Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Single Swing, 9 - Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Double Swing and 10 - Hammer Time . Scores will be based on damage dealt. The part of the hammer will be played by Pugil Sticks (you know, the giant q-tips).
Heroes, ready?
KTS: Ranka Lee's eEXM-17 Alto has been disabled. KTS: Emilia Eschonbach has deployed in RK-92 Savage. KTS: Gemini Sunrise has deployed in RK-92 Savage. KTS: Yuta Hibiki has deployed in RK-92 Savage. <Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
"Thank you, Rikka! And I'm glad to hear that, it's really nice to spend some time together outside of battle for once.. even if I could only make it to the final event of the festival." Most of Alouette's interactions with the Gridman Alliance have been in life-or-death situations, but she is pleased that they've come to see her as a friend too.
Alouette's up first, in an event intimidatingly titled "The Gauntlet". She is nervous, but she is also thrilled to see what the event might have in store.
First, Alouette has to cross the obstacle course, which undoubtedly, her strong reflexes will come in helpful. She effortlessly crosses the gauntlet of tires, envisioning exactly how to position her body to get through.. and she comes in first. She was definitely expecting it to be more challenging, but she can't help but smile as she hears Yuta and Rikka cheer her on from behind.
It's not over yet, of course, because now it's time for the next round, "Bullseye"! In which she has to successfully fire 5 shots onto the moving target. Since this isn't a life-threatening situation, she doesn't think it will be very difficult, either, as an operator, she is good at scanning down what's ahead of her.
Climbing into the Alto, she takes a moment to configure the controls. The Long Dagger was much more complicated than this.. it should be fine.
Now it's time to take her shots. "Take THIS!" she shouts, as.. paint discharges from the small mobile suit's gun, making a direct hit. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it's definitely better than real weaponry.
The rest of the shots go mostly the same, with one miss, for an overall score of 4/5, tying her with Jindai's Sousuke Sagara. Considering her performance in the obstacle course, this puts Tsutsujidai squarely in the lead. Politely gesturing (curtsying?) to her opponents, Alouette accepts her victory with grace. "You all did really well out there, too! It was.. a close match, really."
Returning to her teammates, she wipes the sweat from her forehead. "We're in the lead! I'm really surprised, but it was close.. good luck you two! I know you can do it!"
KTS: Sheryl Nome has deployed in RK-96 Savage II. KTS: Rin Starking's eEXM-17 Alto has been disabled. KTS: Alouette Pommier's eEXM-17 Alto has been disabled. KTS: Sheryl Nome has deployed in RK-92 Savage. <Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
The second pair of events -- for the second set of competitors -- tests both power and precision with the one-two punch of Powerball and Duel! All four of GUTS's heroes serve as guards for a set of baskets, and it's up to our competitors to plant as many balls as they can in the baskets in a two-minute time frame! It's a fast-paced, chaotic event that calls for good judgment and precision!
Every one of our heroes is on deck for the next event, as well: the Duel. Each hero's machine stands in front of Jindai High School's pool (emptied and filled with giant novelty balls made of crash foam), squared up and ready to defend themselves (Thundercracker across from Ashford, Psyche across from Jindai, Enduro across from Mihoshi, and Mallard across from Tsutsujidai). Each competitor has a heavy pugil stick to swing three times, hopefully sending their opponents -- and their machines -- into the pit.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto is... Pleasantly surprised. Both by the fact that Ranka didn't manage to faceplant her machine into the ground and that she actually scored above average. This might mean they actually have a chance at winning this. Which does actually improve Alto's mood a little. He wasn't sure how well the other two would be able to do. But so far they're off to a good start.
With the first event over, Alto is smiling in the direction of Ranka's Alto. He's not quite as enthusiastic at cheering for her as Sheryl, but he does give an approving nod in Ranka's direction.
Alto then looks at the other contestants for the first round. Rin and Alouette he's not familiar with. Sousuke he has met and he definitely got a vibe from that guy that perhaps he was into things like this. Which seems to be supported by his score. Poor Ashford though... Not a great start.
The announcement goes out. And next up for their team is Sheryl in a Savage. An Arm Slave... Perhaps an appropriate choice for Sheryl. He should probably give her some advice too...
"Try and stay moving, to throw off your opponent's ability to judge where the attacks are coming from. It'll make countering them more difficult."
KTS: Gemini Sunrise targets Rapid Reaction Squad with Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Single Swing! KTS: Emilia Eschonbach targets Armor of the Week with Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Single Swing! KTS: [Lucky] Gemini Sunrise's luck activates, and luck goes her way! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad partially guards Gemini Sunrise's Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Single Swing, taking 2610 damage! KTS: Gemini Sunrise has engaged Rapid Reaction Squad! KTS: Yuta Hibiki has activated the Detonate Spirit Command, reducing the RK-92 Savage to 1 HP! KTS: Yuta Hibiki targets Kaiju Navi with Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Single Swing! KTS: Kaiju Navi partially guards Yuta Hibiki's Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Single Swing, taking 4725 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Yuta Hibiki's Telepathic Link activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Yuta Hibiki's Mediumship activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Yuta Hibiki has engaged Kaiju Navi! KTS: Armor of the Week partially guards Emilia Eschonbach's Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Single Swing, taking 4725 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Emilia Eschonbach's Curse God's Name activates, causing Sparkle! KTS: Emilia Eschonbach has engaged Armor of the Week! KTS: Gemini Sunrise has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Gemini Sunrise targets Rapid Reaction Squad with Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Double Swing! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad partially guards Gemini Sunrise's Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Double Swing, taking 2250 damage! KTS: Gemini Sunrise has engaged Rapid Reaction Squad! KTS: Ranka Lee has deployed as a Sub Pilot for Sheryl Nome! KTS: Ranka Lee has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Sheryl Nome KTS: Sheryl Nome targets Mercenary Wing with Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Single Swing! KTS: Yuta Hibiki targets Kaiju Navi with Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Double Swing! KTS: Kaiju Navi partially guards Yuta Hibiki's Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Double Swing, taking 5250 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Yuta Hibiki's Telepathic Link activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Yuta Hibiki's Mediumship activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Yuta Hibiki has engaged Kaiju Navi! KTS: Emilia Eschonbach has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Emilia Eschonbach has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Yuta Hibiki has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Yuta Hibiki targets Kaiju Navi with Hammer Time! KTS: Kaiju Navi partially guards Yuta Hibiki's Hammer Time, taking 6720 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Yuta Hibiki's Telepathic Link activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Yuta Hibiki's Mediumship activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 158205 KTS: Yuta Hibiki has engaged Kaiju Navi! KTS: Gemini Sunrise has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Mercenary Wing successfully avoids Sheryl Nome's Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Single Swing KTS: Gemini Sunrise targets Rapid Reaction Squad with Hammer Time! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad partially guards Gemini Sunrise's Hammer Time, taking 4592 damage! KTS: Gemini Sunrise has engaged Rapid Reaction Squad! KTS: Emilia Eschonbach targets Armor of the Week with Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Double Swing! KTS: [Lucky] Emilia Eschonbach's The Misfortune of My Birth activates, and luck goes her way! KTS: Armor of the Week partially guards Emilia Eschonbach's Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Double Swing, taking 4100 damage! KTS: Emilia Eschonbach has engaged Armor of the Week! KTS: Emilia Eschonbach targets Armor of the Week with Hammer Time! KTS: Sheryl Nome has activated the Foresee Spirit Command. KTS: Sheryl Nome targets Mercenary Wing with Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Double Swing! KTS: Armor of the Week partially guards Emilia Eschonbach's Hammer Time, taking 3919 damage! KTS: Emilia Eschonbach has engaged Armor of the Week! KTS: Mercenary Wing partially guards Sheryl Nome's Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer Double Swing, taking 2900 damage! KTS: Sheryl Nome has engaged Mercenary Wing! KTS: Ranka Lee has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Sheryl Nome KTS: Sheryl Nome has activated the Foresee Spirit Command. KTS: Sheryl Nome targets Mercenary Wing with Hammer Time! KTS: Mercenary Wing partially guards Sheryl Nome's Hammer Time, taking 5320 damage! KTS: Sheryl Nome has engaged Mercenary Wing! KTS: Emilia Eschonbach's RK-92 Savage has been disabled. KTS: Yuta Hibiki's RK-92 Savage has been disabled. KTS: Gemini Sunrise's RK-92 Savage has been disabled. KTS: Sheryl Nome's RK-92 Savage has been disabled. <Pose Tracker> Kaiju Navi has posed.
Powerball is a tense event; everyone makes a good showing, but it's Tsutsujidai -- after that first round stellar performance -- that ends up on the back foot. Gemini Sunrise brings the intensity for Jindai, meanwhile, managing 47 points' worth of balls in the two-minute span. Sheryl and Emilia match each other perfectly with 41 points -- though one of Sheryl's is at the absolute last second, leading to some not-quite-arguing between Nina and Milly over whether that final point registers. It's Yuta -- perhaps used to a much lighter, flippier style of movement -- who lags behind with just 37 points of balls, owing in part to aggressive counterplay from both Thundercracker and Mallard.
Things turn around during the Duel, however. Yuta absolutely smashes through Mallard's defense, the Type-96 falling into the pool first; Ashford and Jindai have very close performances to one another, with Gemini forcing an ejection from poor Psyche -- who has to protest as that pilot suit gets revealed to people other than a very small selection of seats in the bleachers. (The gold-painted sections of Thundercracker's poor machine crack immediately on impact.) Sheryl's lack of experience means it takes her far and away the most time and effort to push Enduro's MR-1 into the pool -- though she manages it too, with a little cheering from her friends.
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
Hearing Sheryl's call, Ranka actually slowly raises her Alto's arm, and causes it to close its hand into a fist. She'd do a V, but she hasn't quite figured out fine movements with the fingers. She's surprised she even figured that out. Maybe Alto is right, maybe it is all instinct! She certainly didn't remember any of that manual, but somehow she figured it out? Eventually???
She's smiling so hard that her canine teeth are showing once she gets out. "Wow, I didn't really expect to do that well!"
As Sheryl climbs in, Ranka wrings her hands together. Sheryl will obviously do better than her. After all, she's Sheryl Nome. She also finds herself wanting to cheer Emilia this round, but is that proper? Is that okay? She's not certain. So she just says 'Go Emilia!' in a sotto voce with a hidden hand balled at her side.
Either way, when Sheryl goes for her first attack, Ranka tries to call out nervously, "Maybe a bit further l-" The call comes too late, and she was too soft beside.
The second attack hits, and as Sheryl approaches for the third, she shouts, "YOU'VE GOT THIS SHERYL! GET THEM!" When it strikes home, her hair lifts as she just starts clapping repeatedly before holding up a V with her fingers.
As the event concludes, she turns to Alto, balling up both her fists, "You've got this Alto! We're still in this!"
Who knew she could be so competitive? ... Well, Sheryl definitely knows she can be at least.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
"Yeah... we really should hang out more often." Rikka replies with a nod and a smile. "Good luck out there!"
Rikka watches from afar at Alouette's performance. Because she's usually so focused on the fight at hand, she hasn't been able to really watch Alouette's piloting skills. But... she's actually really impressive. Her agility is incredible - and then next up is her aim, and she does really well!
"Yeah, Alouette!" Rikka cheers, and when she returns, Rikka has a huge grin on her face.
"You were awesome out there, Alouette. I didn't realise a mobile suit could move so smoothly!" Rikka comments.
And now for the second round, with Yuta up. They're piloting Arm Slaves this round. This is actually really convenient for them - if it's that, then Yuta should be more in his element...
"Go, Hibiki!!" Rikka calls out. Basket-shooting, followed up by a duel with Arm Slave-sized sticks... "You've got this!"
...And she cheers, at his success in his Duel round!
<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.
"Huh," Kurz Weber muses from the Jindai stands. "Didn't know Sagara was that good with an MS."
"That's an ExAMECS, you pinhead," Mao grumps at him, ever the engineer. "So I guess he never told you about his time in space, huh?"
Kurz flounders, halfway to a hotdog. "His what! I thought he was working, like, Balic! Helmajistan! Krugis!"
Mao cuffs him upside the head. "Keep it down! Ask him later, jeeze."
Meanwhile, Sousuke stands with arms crossed, watching carefully. "An up-close engagement...it should suit her strengths. Now we just see how she fares."
Verdict: "A fine performance," he opines.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"You were amazing out there!" Yuta says, as Alouette comes back to them. "We couldn't ask for a better start."
Now, it's his turn. Yuta approaches the machine. Once he gets inside, it looks like the robot moves with him? His eyes light up. This is going to be just like fighting with Gridman!
The 'hammer' feels right in his hands. Different than Calibur, but a familiar sensation all the same. With a grin, Yuta does a whirling flip in the robot to get himself hyped. He has to do a good job for Rikka, and Alouette! For everyone cheering for them!
The first swing comes up. Yuta flips the hammer in his hands, testing its weight. This is going to be fun! He doesn't have to worry about hurting anyone. WHAM! The young man clobbers the 'enemy' before him with a one handed swing. Yuta pauses, obvserving the robot he smacked. They seem okay... so it's fine to keep going, right?
Yuta spins in place a little, striking a familiar-looking combat pose. Holding the hammer in both hands this time, he swings once, then flips it in midair once more and swings the other way. The Type-96 wobbles, but it's not quite enough!
Fully hyped now, Yuta decides to show off a bit for this final hit. He leaps into the air, raising the hammer above his head, and brings it down with the most force he can muster. "Yaaah--!"
His opponent falls into the pool! Yuta cheers for himself, then tries to turn to face his teemmates again. But -- his machine isn't really responding. Uh oh. Maybe he pushed it a bit too hard with that last hit...
<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.
Gemini takes a bit to get used to the Savage, quickly getting her bearings and heading to the field. Powerball! This should be a snap, she played b-ball with Sagitta all the time! The skills of Harlem meet the soul of a samurai as Gemini easily darts around the court, slipping past her hero and dunking after dunk on this fool. "Shut up and jam!"
And the next event: A duel! It's like it was made for her! The staff she was given was a fair bit weightier than her Gunbarrel Sword, but she should be fine enough. Her first swing is to get used to the weight, a fine hit, if a bit unsteady. More sure of her momentum, she puts her all into the second hit, striking her target from the other side, then quickly spinning around to slam the hammer right around, pounding into the side of the cockpit. She cackles to herself as Psyche is forced to eject, the unit falling into the pool. "Hyaah! You're a hundred years too early to face me!" She turns to face her team and gives a thumbs up!
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
It's Sheryl's turn now. As Ranka returns from the field, Sheryl offers her a high five (she's a little too excited for that). Alto gives her his advice, and she nods, expression serious, heart hammering. "Stay moving. Got it," she states. She winks to him and Ranka both. "Be back in a flash~!"
She jogs out to the Arm Slave, and while the name of the mech gives her a smile, she finds as she straps herself in that her hands are shaking a little. She steadies her nerves with a deep breath. "Don't be nervous. It's just like any other stage you've stood on," she murmurs to herself, reaching out for the controls. "Ready, and... go!!"
It's nerve-wracking to get the kind of precision necessary to get all the balls in. Still, she focuses with all her consideration concentration and keeps going 'til the very last second, which works out for her when one of those balls in goes in just as the timer buzzes, ensuring that she manages to tie up with Emilia. She smiles in relief. It's not the best showing, but it's hardly the worst, either.
Next, though, it's a match against the Enduro using brute force, something that Sheryl isn't used to bringing to the fore in terms of a mech. Her training so far has all about, well--controlling a variable fighter plane, a machine that's all about precision and control. Her sheer stubbornness manages to get her to shove the Enduro's MR-1 in the pool in the end, but she can't say she's very pleased with herself when all's said and done.
Still, she doesn't let that show, either. By the time she returns to Alto and Ranka, she's all smiles. "That was fun!" she chirps. "A little different from what I'm used to, though." She shrugs nonchalantly. "But I guess that's what it means to be an amateur." She claps Alto's shoulder. "Well, you're up~! Ranka, make sure to cheer extra hard with me so he's extra motivated, okay?" She winks at Alto. "With two beauties like us at your back, you'd better not lose~!"
Despite her words, her tone stays light and playful. Whether Alto finds that more or less motivating than if Sheryl acted like she meant it is yet to be seen.
<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.
Basketball is popular enough; Mana's started to follow it recently, especially the IWSC's version, because that one has robots and every sport is better with robots.
"C'mon, get in around them!" she calls, before craning her head and neck backwards to look at Kurz and Mao. She didn't hear them from down there, did she? Surely she's not that alert.
(She's not.)
Straightening back down for the second half of the event, Mana lets out a wolf whistle... at Yuta, who is not on her school's team but she was impressed by his ability to swing that thing. "Don't worry, I'll get it," she assures him, assuming it's stuck. This is, after all, part of her job! If he can't coax it out of the way, she can.
Mind you, she'll watch the rest of the competition from sitting on top of the Savage. But it still counts.
She also cheers for Gemini (of course!), but: "I never got that," she says to herself. "What are they supposed to do, wait a hundred years? That doesn't even make any sense."
KTS: Armor of the Week has deployed in Deculture Festival MR-1. KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad has deployed in Deculture Festival MR-1. KTS: Kaiju Navi has deployed in Deculture Festival MR-1. KTS: Kaiju_Navi has deployed as a Boss for 20 opponents. KTS: Rapid_Reaction_Squad has deployed as a Boss for 20 opponents. KTS: Mercenary Wing has deployed in Deculture Festival MR-1. KTS: Mercenary_Wing has deployed as a Boss for 20 opponents. <Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
"Oh, I'd love that! We'll have to figure something out later..." Alouette's response at Rikka's suggestion to hang out more often. They just need to find the time.. but this has been great so far.
Both Yuta and Rikka praise her performance, with Rikka pointing out her speed and precision, and Alouette blushes a little. "Aww.. thank you! I've only actually piloted a few times but I'm happy I could put on a good showing."
It's Yuta's turn next, and he brings in another win for Tsutsujidai! Even without Gridman, he was very impressive out there, putting a shocking amount of power into his attacks. "Yuta! You did great! I bet Gridman is very proud of you right now too, if he's watching."
Rikka's up last, and Alouette can understand if that puts the pressure on her, so she cheers her on. "You got this, Rikka!"
<Pose Tracker> Neo Getter Team has posed.
"Nice job, Gemini!" Sho grins wickedly at the other redhead as she dismounts. "You really laid into her." Sort of like Go, in fact - she's mentally reordering who goes where in this hypothetical Getter Team.
The actual Go in the stands, meanwhile, is hollering at the violence in general, the head pilot for Getter-1 thoroughly engrossed in robots beating the crap out of each other.
"So, that means I'm up last in whatever unit they have for me. Wish me luck!" She grins sharklike, turning to head over to her robot.
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
"Wow, Hibiki's really going for it. ... if he breaks that thing, is it coming out of Tsutsujidai's prize budget...?" Marusan asks, blinking a few times.
"He better not screw things up for the event staff," Akane says, just a little too annoyed.
"Huh?"
"... Ahahaha, sorry, I'm just annoyed at summer homework," Akane lies. "No big deal!"
-=-=-
Once they iron out the scoring situation from Powerball, Milly stretches out a bit. "Hmmm... I'm actually impressed how close this is coming out... but kind of also surprised how much everyone's manhandling the staff." She'd picked -- or reached out to get picked -- what she assumed was a pretty all-star list of defenders, between Rivalz's driving background, Shirley and Tsubaki's physicality, and Ako's youthful energy. It's like they're up against professional pilots or something.
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
In the cockpit of the Savage, Emilia can't help but feel a different sort of anxious. She's competing against Sheryl? She's competing against the first and first placers, don't tell her they're good at this too!
She knows the specs of a Savage, she knows how their parts work. But why does it respond so much... nicer than her Burai? The Burai's a better unit- if only just. But she does well in the Powerball, and comfortably so. Jindai are dangerous, sure, but her showing is respectable.
But poor Thundercracker bears the weight of the pugil stick, so comfortably like Jack's hammer but to scale! She KNOWS how to use this, and the anger in her despair bubbles to the surface as she drives Thundercracker to the surface. Adrenaline is flowing for the first time in a while. Her AS looks down at Thundercracker-
Only to hear the sounds of Yuta's hydraulics and engine giving up the ghost. Will 'amateur pilot insurance' cover this? She walks out after the competition- looking like she's built up a sweat. The khaki of the Arthur's team shirt clings a little. She looks to Kallen, and to Rin. She did what she could. "G-Good luck, K-Kallen."
And then she sits and grabs a water because she *really* needs to cool off- mentally and physically. She hasn't released ALL that anger yet.
------
The referee comes back on the Wappa, and now has magnification goggles. Who ARE they, anyway? "Contenders Alto Saotome, Sho Tachibana, Kallen Stadtfield and Rikka Takarada: Please proceed to the Tendus UID 39." ...They definitely got these junkers for cheap. It has a WINDSCREEN.
Danger Zone involves Contenders being attacked three times by the heroes. Contenders may react in any manner they choose. Scores will be based on the percentage of HP remaining. It is advised to spend any remaining spirit commands this round.
Heroes, ready? Contenders, ready?
KTS: Neo Getter Team has deployed in Tendus. KTS: Kallen Kozuki has deployed in Tendus. KTS: Rikka Takarada has deployed in Tendus. KTS: Alto Saotome has deployed in Tendus. <Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
The obstacle course from earlier has been gently rearranged in the time since it was last in use -- only this time, the competitors, rather than rushing into the course, are getting chased! It's a more demanding obstacle course that insists that everyone involved push themselves to the limits...
... and then immediately turns into a pitched battle for their lives (or at least their tournament lives) as the Heroes get their chance to fight back! Each one gets a single-handed MULS-P machine gun with an underslung grenade launcher (... don't worry, it's paint!) and a mid-sized boffer stick to deliver a series of strikes with at all distances, requiring the competitors to either turtle up or try to get away!
KTS: Armor of the Week targets Kallen Kozuki with Triathlon Assault Launcher Grenade! KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Rikka Takarada with Triathlon Assault Launcher Grenade! KTS: Kallen Kozuki has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Mercenary Wing targets Neo Getter Team with Triathlon Assault Launcher Grenade! KTS: Neo Getter Team blocks Mercenary Wing's Triathlon Assault Launcher Grenade, taking 3150 damage! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad targets Alto Saotome with Triathlon Assault Launcher Grenade! KTS: Rikka Takarada blocks Kaiju Navi's Triathlon Assault Launcher Grenade, taking 2700 damage! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 734. KTS: Kallen Kozuki blocks Armor of the Week's Triathlon Assault Launcher Grenade, taking 4950 damage! KTS: Alto Saotome fails to evade Rapid Reaction Squad's Triathlon Assault Launcher Grenade, taking 4500 damage! KTS: Armor of the Week targets Kallen Kozuki with Triathlon Boffer Strike! KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Rikka Takarada with Triathlon Boffer Strike! KTS: Rikka Takarada blocks Kaiju Navi's Triathlon Boffer Strike, taking 2700 damage! KTS: Kaiju Navi has engaged Rikka Takarada! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 757. KTS: Mercenary Wing targets Neo Getter Team with Triathlon Boffer Strike! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad targets Alto Saotome with Triathlon Boffer Strike! KTS: Neo Getter Team parries Mercenary Wing's Triathlon Boffer Strike, taking 540 damage! KTS: Mercenary Wing has engaged Neo Getter Team! KTS: Kallen Kozuki has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Kallen Kozuki rushes into the attack! KTS: Kallen Kozuki partially guards Armor of the Week's Triathlon Boffer Strike, taking 2520 damage! KTS: Armor of the Week has engaged Kallen Kozuki! KTS: Armor of the Week targets Kallen Kozuki with Triathlon Boffer Combo! KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Rikka Takarada with Triathlon Boffer Combo! KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome fails to parry Rapid Reaction Squad's Triathlon Boffer Strike, taking 4320 damage! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad has engaged Alto Saotome! KTS: Mercenary Wing targets Neo Getter Team with Triathlon Boffer Combo! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad targets Alto Saotome with Triathlon Boffer Combo! KTS: Neo Getter Team fails to parry Mercenary Wing's Triathlon Boffer Combo, taking 5880 damage! KTS: Mercenary Wing has engaged Neo Getter Team! KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Trust Spirit Command. KTS: Rikka Takarada blocks Kaiju Navi's Triathlon Boffer Combo, taking 1470 damage! KTS: Kaiju Navi has engaged Rikka Takarada! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 757. KTS: Kallen Kozuki has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome fails to parry Rapid Reaction Squad's Triathlon Boffer Combo, taking 4410 damage! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad has engaged Alto Saotome! KTS: Kallen Kozuki retreats from the attack! KTS: Kallen Kozuki fails to react to Armor of the Week's Triathlon Boffer Combo, taking 5880 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
The Pursuit proves a tense event, and a close event too; Ashford takes an early lead with a finish in one minute and 37 seconds (and is the only school not to get caught -- poor Ako is still reeling from earlier). Jindai -- thanks to a small brush with a very motivated (and annoyed!) Psyche -- loses a second to a swipe from the Savage, but still manages a finish in just over a minute 38. Mihoshi Academy finishes two seconds later, in turn, losing time to Enduro using a brief straightaway to pull ahead, slice in, and trip Alto (and do a sick Akira-style burnout in the process). Issei has speed on Rikka -- Mallard manages a full grapple at one point, leaving Tsutsujidai to finish dead last at a minute and 42 seconds.
The equation changes a fair bit, however, when the attacks start coming. Rikka manages solid mitigation on almost everything Issei has to offer, putting her time in Synchrotank to good defensive use; Sho pulls off an impressive parry on the first strike but then Psyche takes out the full force of her irritation with Milly 'Dirty Old Man' Ashford on her, blowing through everything the aging Tendus has to offer defensively.
Kallen and Alto, however, take the worst of it; Thundercracker has a grasp of all-range combat that honestly might be a little distressing to watch come from a total nobody, planting a grenade at Kallen's Tendus's feet and then closing in behind it for strike after strike after strike while it's unbalanced. Alto tries to lock up in close quarters with Enduro, but his single-minded focus on ground speed gives him an edge against a competitor extremely used to having the air to work with -- he comes in for a trip (something else a VF rarely has to deal with!) and then a series of aggressive blows.
<Pose Tracker> Neo Getter Team has posed.
Despite her obvious skill at handling a manual-type unit and her training in adapting a unit to its terrain specialisations, Sho is a lot like Alto - her preference is to take to the sky, and it shows as Psyche scrapes some paint off the side of the Tendus as Sho pushes the landlocked unit to its limits trying to outrun the very angry young lady.
In close combat, however, she's much more experienced, grinning as she deflects Psyche's first strike with casual ease - and then Psyche gets really mad and comes in a lot faster than she was expecting. Sho's trained instincts take over and she fumbles for docking release levers, forgetting that, oh, right, she's not piloting Neo Getter, stalling the Tendus in a critical moment and allowing Psyche to just lay into it.
Still, the thrill of the battle has her in high spirits when it comes time to pop the canopy. "I'll get you back next time!" She yells at Psyche, pointing at her with a lunatic grin on her face.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Red hair sticks to Yuta's forehead, held down by sweat. He bows apologetically to the judges, awkwardly leaving the damaged arm slave behind.
"You got this, Rikka." Yuta offers her a high five before she walks off, smiling brightly. "And thank you for cheering for me!"
Taking a seat next to Alouette, Yuta cheers his loudest yet. Rikka's going to do amazing..! She just has to bring it home, and Team Tsutsudijai will beat all the odds! He's on the edge of his seat, watching the Heroes go after Rikka. Maybe he should've volunteered to take this round? It's much easier to take hits yourself than watch someone you lo-- someone you care about take them, of course.
And... Rikka does, in fact, bring it home! Yuta hollers, jumping onto his seat and waving to her. "You're amazing! I knew you could do it!"
When Rikka begins to walk back to them, Yuta runs out to meet her. Wrapping his arms around her in a hug, he lifts Rikka's feet off the ground and spins her around once, beaming. Once the spin is complete, he lets her back down and steps back. "You were so great! My heart was pounding the whole time!"
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto simply gives his two teammates a smile at the support. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but having them backing him does make him feel like giving it all he has.
That lasts right up until Alto is standing in front of his Tendus. He gives it a stare... And briefly considers resigning out of sheer principle of not piloting this piece of junk. Plus, it's not a Valkyrie. But then he'd just be letting Ranka and Sheryl down. Not to mention the rest of Mihoshi. Not that the last part would actually bother him... The former though. Nnnnngh...
Alto sighs, reluctantly climbing into the machine. The controls are a little different from what he's used to, but he should be able to manage. He just needs to pretend that this is a VF in Battroid mode... Should be simple enough, right?
Wrong.
The Pursuit is going well enough, until Enduro manages to unbalance his machine and send him to the ground. Alto tries to get back up as quickly as he can, but it certainly costs him some time.
Unfortunately the Danger Zone proves even worse. Alto's nature is to prefer to avoid attacks, rather than take them, which first leaves him trying to get clear of the launched grenade before it can catch him. But evidently he overestimated just how fast the machine he's riding can move, the blast of paint still splattering much of it.
Then when Enduro comes swooping in with a strike to trip him up, Alto tries to maneuver his own weapon into the path to stop it. But it's not enough, the Enduro's hit unbalancing Alto's machine and creating an opening to get in another series of strikes that finally cause the Tendus to crash backwards onto its back.
Alto slams a fist against a side panel, muttering, "Piece of crap." Before he proceeds to climb out and start making his way back towards his teammates, looking none too thrilled.
<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.
Sousuke observes the performance from the Akai Jindai waiting spot. He is continuing to cross his arms dramatically because, nobody has told him he can stop, mostly.
When Sho is on her way back, he gives her a greeting nod. "Good work. The Tendus is a finnicky machine."
He owns one. You know, privately. Sometimes you just get a good deal on a cheap Wanzer, you know?
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
"Absolutely!" Rikka agrees with Alouette, and then laughs good-naturedly. "Only a few times? It really doesn't show, honestly - anyone who watched would think you were already a pro!"
As for Yuta's round... he gets really intense, and practically disables his machine.
"W-wow... I knew he'd do well, but I think he might've done a little too well..." Rikka says with a laugh. She said not to be reckless... but it worked out to their advantage, so she certainly isn't complaining.
Finally, though... it's her turn. Rikka takes a deep breath.
"Thanks... I'll do my best." Rikka replies with a nod, and returns Yuta's high-five!. "Wish me luck!"
She's a little nervous, but even so she moves on to her machine for this round... which is kind of a junker.
"...I'm pretty sure I've seen some of these in our junkyard..." Rikka comments. The Tendus may be a junker... but, she kind of has an affinity for junkers, given her choice of mobile suit. She approaches the wanzer, giving it a brief pat on the leg.
"...Let's do our best, okay?" Rikka says quietly, before climbing in and moving to her starting position.
...Unfortunately, the wanzer is different even from Synchrotank's method of piloting. She's used to having autobalancing systems compensating for her - a wanzer is a different beast altogether, and it reflects on her as she tries to make it through the obstacle course while being pursued. She makes a few key mistakes in the process - nearly stumbling a few times as she makes a few jumps and movements to clear obstacles that require a bit more unassisted skill than she has - and that costs her dearly.
...And in the end, the 'heroes' bear down on them. Rikka's strategy, ultimately... is to bunker down. She can weather this storm. Rikka grits her teeth, planting her feet and readying the Tendus's shield. First a blast from a (paint) grenade. She's half-way tempted to try shooting the missile down rather than take it head-on, but she doesn't trust her ability to hit a target that small. Next comes a quick strike with the boffer stick, which she's barely able to block, finishing out with brutal combination of swings. Rikka endures it, having to balance keeping the shield up while maintaining her wanzer's footing as she pushes against Issei's flurry of strikes. If there's one thing she can handle, it's defense - and it reflects in her ability to handle the strikes coming her way.
"...Thanks, Tendus. You did great." Rikka says, exhaling. That was... incredibly tense. But it seems like she did pretty well for herself, at least. She likes to think she was rewarded for believing in her machine, junker though it may be.
Rikka returns the wanzer to its position and dismounts, returning to her team.
She's met by Yuta... with a hug and a spin!! Rikka laughs a bit sheepishly, taking a moment to stabilize herself when she's set back down.
"Mine still is... that was intense." She replies. "But, thanks... I couldn't have done it without both of you cheering me on."
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
Kallen has been watching the previous rounds with breath held in. Anxious and on the edge of her seat for every second. She's cheering hard for her teammates, seemingly ripping her throat raw the way she's going for it! Of course, the first round doesn't exactly go ideally, but that doesn't make things impossible to salvage by a long shot. Really, she's not worried about it. They planned some things out. A few plans in case of different situations.
She sends Emmy along with a confident cheer, and honestly? It works out pretty great. She'll need to look into pivoting Emmy's training course toward Arm Slaves in general, and away from the standard Burais. This is a good exercise for showing her what her team's skillset is when she's not locked in combat. Letting her better judge some of their preferences, or if they have a hidden talent they might not even realize is there.
And then her turn comes up. She blanches a little, when she sees the junkheaps of 'wanzers' that were provided to them for this. These things are worse than her old patchwork GLASGOW. Still, she hooks in a breath and puts on her game face. "I've got this." She looks confident, as the t-shirt gets pulled up over her head and hurled into the arms of her teammates. Leaving her just with the piloting suit as she leaps, not climbs, into the old scrap-heap's pilot seat. And stares at each member of her competition in turn, fire blazing in her eyes.
...It's not a hard jump really. It's not even turned on and upright yet.
The instant she's controlling the old Tendus, she knows from her forays into trying out wanzers when the Glasgow still needed fixing. It's even worse than it looks. It'll be a miracle if this thing doesn't fall to pieces.
To her credit, in a contest of speed, she SOMEHOW pulls enough out of the clunker's engine to successfully keep out of Thundercracker's hands. Somehow. Mostly, her experience with city warfare and tight turns.
When it's time to take the hits though... That's where everything goes to hell in a handbasket. She takes a grenade explosion between the legs... typically something she does to HERSELF as a way to get around faster, but instead of jumping with it to get propelled into a fight, she's all-but knocked on her ass. She does attempt to weave around the close-range attacks that follow, but it doesn't really work out. By the end, the Tendus is rattling itself to pieces, with chunks flying off every time the wanzer so much as moves. And Kallen feeling absolutely defeated. "Dammit, it's just a contest though. It's fine. Wanted to show off, but... I'll find another chance sometime."
It's better that Emmy got to show off anyway, and do pretty well for herself at that.
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
Ashford coming up short doesn't bother Milly -- in large part because as a matter of practicality it means that no one can accuse her of rigging the competition in favor of her own school. She is a little surprised, admittedly; she has to confer with Nina again for a little while, this time about whether everything is reporting impacts correctly.
(She may be one degree worried about something else entirely. What will she do if Shirley realizes she can enforce her will through the power of limitless violence?!)
-=-=-
The mysterious pinkhair in the bleachers continues to mostly just be vibing. It's nice to watch people have a good time.
She sneezes, sniffling and rubbing at her nose. For a moment, keen-eyed observers can see blue-purple eyes under those sunglasses. It's fine.
-=-=-
Akane watches Rikka take a pounding from a machine both a fair bit larger and a fair bit more modern and absolutely not flinch under the pressure. It's... simultaneously happy to watch and kind of unhappy.
"Wow, she's kinda kicking butt! She'll be fine out here," Akane enthuses.
Ramo awkwardly asks: "Do you mean, like... at GUTS events? Takarada's not, like -- she's not a delicate flower or anything. She can travel just fine."
A little distantly, Akane affirms, "Something like that."
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
Emmy's surprised at how much Kallen struggles, honestly. But so does everyone but Rikka... She really didn't seem like a pilot to Emilia...
Rikka also wouldn't choke on... whatever Emilia tried to do on stage. At least the wish of good luck worked for her.
When Emilia sees the scoreboard, she slumps. Dead last again. She really can't compete, can she?
---
The referee gets on the loudspeaker again. "Would Captain Takarada of the Tsutsujidai alliance please report to the competition area."
When she gets there, Rikka is given a folded slip of paper.
---
Please choose one of the following for yourself: 1. Alto, 2. Tendus, 3. Savage, 4. 5 Second Head Start.
She is given a pen to select. Time is flowing.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
As much as Sheryl was hoping that Alto would shore up their team and lead them to victory, sadly, it just doesn't turn out like that. She identifies a little too much with Alto's frustration to be able to give him too much guff over it, at least. If she had trouble in that Armor Slave, then she's not surprised he had trouble in that ancient-looking machine--and he did say from the start that he wasn't thrilled about a competition with these kinds of machines.
A loss is a loss, though. As much as Sheryl hates to lose, she'll at least lose with dignity. When Alto returns, she smiles and shrugs like it was never a big deal from the start. She can't quite muster the enthusiasm that the winners had, but she can at least salve her (their) bruised ego(s).
So: "Congratulations, Ranka. It looks like you did the best out of all of us. Great job!" Sheryl tells her friend with a smile. "Maybe you should've been giving us advice instead?" She turns her gaze to pull Alto in her view too. "So, do you two want to stick around for the official judging before heading out, or do you want to ditch and go get tea or something instead?"
She doesn't pay any mind to Rikka getting called back into the competition area, at least not at first. She assumes it's about her team winning--after all, all three of them did very well in each of their rounds.
<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
After dismounting, Rin walks back over to where Kallen may or may not be loitering. "Phew... well, I suppose we really do have to put our trust into Emilia here, huh," she says, now that Emilia isn't present to hear. HOW CRUEL.
"I think she's got a lot of potential, though. Hopefully she can tap it here..."
And as Rin sits and watches, she can see that while it's a struggle, perhaps... Emilia does. Rin contemplates in silence as she sits on a bench, obtaining and drinking a water in her own right. Meditatively.
She's quiet enough when Emilia comes back. Kallen gets out there, though, and Rin opens her mouth as if to say something-- and laughs it off instead.
It went through my fingers again, Rin thinks; and I can't even blame fate, can I? If I hadn't tried to showboat there... Maybe that's the nature of reality; maybe reality isn't a place where you can showboat. It's just slow processes and automatic operations; any flair is...
Is...
Rin shakes her head slightly. No, she thinks. No; I got ahead of myself. You gotta walk before you can do sick skating tricks. That's all.
When Kallen gets back, Rin looks upwards. "Hey~" she says to her, with slight but distinguishiable effort. "Great work out there. I was on the edge of my seat. How do you feel about it?" A question that might include Emilia.
KTS: Kallen Kozuki's Tendus has been disabled. <Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.
One Sho makes it back to the team area, Gemini grabs both her and Sousuke and pulls them in close with a hearty laugh. "Haha, heck yeah! Akai Jindai all th' way!" She starts jumping up and down in celebration, encouraging them to jump with her.
====
Michael Sunnyside and Ratchet Altair join in on the applause once the final round ends.
"Remarkable how far our Gemini has come, isn't it, Ratchet?"
"It's not surprising to me, honestly. She's been through a lot already."
"Indeed. And look at how happy she is. Maybe Dr. Mass was onto something after all."
KTS: Alto Saotome's Tendus has been disabled. KTS: Neo Getter Team's Tendus has been disabled. KTS: Rikka Takarada's Tendus has been disabled. <Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Just as Rikka is starting to relax again... Rikka is called over to the competition area.
"...I wonder what this is about..." Rikka comments with a frown. "I'll be right back!"
She hurries over, where she's given a slip of paper. She stares at it for a moment. Alto, Tendus, Savage... a look of confusion crosses over her face.
...Five second head start? What the hell? A head start for what??
...If the other entries on the lists are suits, does that mean she doesn't get one if she goes with the head start?
...It takes some thought, and she can't consult with her team up here. In the end, she selects option 1, the Alto. She's very tempted to pick the Tendus, given how well it served her before, but its systems are something she's a little more familiar with.
...But for what she's using it for, she has no clue! For all she knows, she might not even be piloting it...
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
Everyone gets shooed off the field proper for now, for 'setup.' It's important.
-=-=-
"All right, people!" Milly says, standing up and cracking her knuckles exaggeratedly. "I'm requesting absolutely no one move because we're about to do something pretty crazy to the athletic field in preparation for our final event:"
A dramatic glint and a point forward with a riding crop:
"The E-Milly-nator! Registered trademark of the Ashford Foundation."
The athletic field rumbles. Panels and pieces retract into the ground beneath, and out of the ground erupts an obstacle course -- no, not just 'an obstacle course,' but the obstacle course. It encompasses the entirety of the athletic grounds. It has verticality.
It has four core sections, each divided into four tracks -- one for each team.
In the first section, participants have to shoot through a wooden target with a provided weapon, which will knock over a 'log' that connects the first section to the second. The next requires getting through a barrage of balls of crash foam to strike a target -- and then retreat from that target along a second length of track and eventually up a significant incline.
The final section requires -- by any means necessary -- tearing down a barrier made out of a decommissioned Type-61 tank.
Yeah: it's that kind of party.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Alouette laughs along with Rikka as she mentions that she pilots like a pro. "I might be a quick learner!" She can't rely on her Coordinator intuition forever, but this is quite good practice at least.
As Rikka competes in her bracket, it looks to be a close match once again, with Rikka scraping by ahead in the last round. As she returns, Yuta hugs her and although Alouette gives Rikka space at first, she then gets up from her seat and stands with them. "Rikka, you did great! It didn't look to be an easy round at all, but you looked so strong brushing off all those attacks!" Putting her hand on both of their shoulders, she continues. "We all did excellent, we certainly exceeded their expectations for us and more." They all scored first in their respective rounds, does that mean they won? Alouette hasn't even thought about what she should use that cheque on...
But then, the referee calls Rikka over, in a secretive manner. What could that be...?
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
While she's not happy with her own performance, she's not going to let it keep her down visibly, at least until she's in private. So she'll talk with Rin as they walk off the field. "Mm. It wasn't great, but Emmy was amazing. I think Arm Slaves are a pretty good fit for her." Her voice gets low, making sure nobody else can hear. "Three of us are doing more serious piloting drills later. Finding each other's buried talent, and burning off some frustration at the same time."
Ominous rumbling from behind the group, back toward the field...? What could be going on there, and why does she have a cold chill racing up her spine?
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
The paper is folded, closed and the referee nods. "Very well, Captain Takarada. Please go to your selected unit."
The loudspeaker speaks again, after Rikka makes her selection.
"Captain Nome, please report to your choice of the Tendus or the Savage. Captain Tachibana, take the remaining unit, and then proceed to the starting line.
Obstacle 1 requires each pilot to hit an unengaged target with a ranged attack.
Obstacle 2 requires each pilot to engage an unengaged target.
Obstacle 3 requires you to disengage or retreat from an engaged target.
Obstacle 4 requires you to deal 6000 damage to a blocking enemy.
Spirit commands may be used as long as you can afford them. If you do nut succeed at an obstacle within 3 attempts, you will receive a penalty and move the new obstacle. Fastest time wins.
<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
A quiet melancholy, perhaps the acceptance of defeat, had been settling around Rin Starking as she reached out to her comrades in arms, whatever way they may be taking this news.
'The E-Milly-nator!'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNHooTszyW4
Rin's head abruptly swivels to look towards the field. "Hold up," Rin says. "I want to see what's going on here before I make any big plans for rigorous self-improvement."
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
That frustration is palpable from here. Ranka sympathizes with Alto. Out of all of them he should have done the best, but... then again, that Tendus looks hard to pilot, it's nothing like a Valkyrie. She just slumps in disappointment, she was really hoping to win, and Ashford didn't win either, so they can't really give back to the Fantasy Seduction Club.
When he returns, she just says, "Alto..." Then trails off, like there's nothing she feels she can say to assuage that feeling.
It's not until Sheryl congratulates her for doing the best, that she startles out of that mood...
"Eh?" Ranka just looks lost all of a sudden, as she looks from Alto - the SMS pilot. To Sheryl, who's in the piloting program. Then back and forth, looking just more and more lost.
She feels that doing the best of all three of them somehow takes something away from the other two. So she tries to blunt that.
"Um! It was was all thanks to Alto's advice, on instinct! And your cheering Sheryl! I could have never done it without the two of you."
Rikka getting called back, she assumes to accept the first place for the Tsutsujidai alliance.
As for Emilia... she can feel that from here, and she steals a glance, but only a brief one, she doesn't want her to feel worse if she catches her looking, given that Ranka did pretty well. Then they get shooed off the field and-
Her hair leaps as the field splits open, "What is Milly up to?" She quietly asks Sheryl and Alto. "Wait." She looks from one of them to the other, "Wait it's not over?"
'Captain Nome, please report to your choice of-'
Milly's officially made her a bit dizzy, just from the sheer chaos of messing with her expectations. "-Good luck Sheryl!"
<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.
Mana was still sitting on Yuta's Savage, because she doesn't have time to repair it right now - she got it moved off the field and that's the important part. When the field shifts near her, she grips it for a moment, then stands up, balancing on its shoulder and hanging onto the head, shading her eyes so she gets a better look.
"And they tell ME I'm not allowed to build military things in shop?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Yuta nervously looks to Alouette as Rikka is called away. "Do you think we did something wrong..? Maybe this is about me breaking that robot.. I hope they don't get mad at Rikka for it."
Kicking at the grass as he waits for answers, Yuta is startled when the obstacle course begins to rise from the ground. "W--what?!" Is this what schools with a proper budget are capable of!? He glances to Alouette, putting a hand out to steady her, should she need it.
"Another round?!" Yuta exclaims, looking worridly after Rikka. "I thought we were done here, but --" Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouts, "Rikka! You can do this! Don't worry about anything but the path in front of you, and you'll do great!"
KTS: Rikka Takarada has deployed in eEXM-17 Alto. <Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
The answer to the question Rikka was asking herself is answered. And that answer... is the E-Milly-nator. Rikka stares from afar, dumbfounded, as a massive obstacle course emerges from the athletic field.
"...What the hell?" Rikka repeats, this time out loud. ...Was this there underneath the field the whole time?? For how long? Did they really put that together just for this event...?
...Ashford, Rikka decides, is terrifying. She's ultimately satisfied with her choice, though... but nerves are setting in a little. She heads to the Alto she picked, climbing in and moving toward the starting line.
In the distance, though, she hears Yuta cheering for her.
Don't worry about anything but the path in front of her... Right. Rikka exhales.
She can do this.
<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.
"This is a little like fighting, isn't it..?" Nunnally wonders, listening to the announcements. "Are they really going to be okay..?" As far as she knows, Emilia and Kallen and Ranka aren't fighters, after all.
She shakes her head, and waves her hands, with a bold cheer out in the direction of the field: "YOU CAN DO IT! DON'T GIVE UP!!"
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
'The E-Milly-nator!' 'Captain Nome, please report to your choice of...'
Sheryl blinks in surprise as she looks over at Milly and the loudspeaker. It's not over? Honestly, and here she'd been ready to lose with grace! The nerve of these event-runners, getting her worked up all over again! She huffs and flips her ponytailed hair, giving serious consideration to blowing off the announcement and leaving anyway.
Still, Ranka does her best to cheer her on, and Sheryl finds herself smiling again. She looks downcast, and Alto's frustrated too... Oh, fine! If there's one last chance to turn things around, they ought to try, right? She's the one who was saying all that stuff about enthusiasm and all, too! And... if she's going to lose with grace, it would be a real bad look to leave because they're behind.
"Win or lose, we may as well do it with style," she declares, and strides, head tall, towards the Savage. (Like she's going to take up the Tendus after all that!)
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto meets up with his team once more, simply giving them a shrug, funnily enough returning Sheryl's own action. It definitely could have gone better. But at least it's over now. For the most part. Alto assumes there's still some ending to the whole festival that they should probably stick around for.
Though when Sheryl congratulates Ranka, Alto does actually smiling again, saying, "Yeah. Who would have thought that out of the three of us, you'd come out on top?" Literally the only one of them that ISN'T in Mihoshi's piloting course. And has also never piloted something in real life. Who'd have thought?
At the question of whether to stick around, Alto doesn't actually get a chance to reply as Sheryl is instead called on to make a choice. He looks like a little confused, but nonetheless watches...
Alto's eyes go wide at the sight of the obstacle course rising out of the ground. Finally he says, "She's crazy." Referring to Milly, of course.
But, given his performance today, it's probably a good thing that Sheryl is the one who has a chance to actually attempt to improve their situation. It seems hopeless... Regardless though, Alto says, "If anyone can lose in style, it's you." An odd way to say 'good luck' but whatever works!
<Pose Tracker> Neo Getter Team has posed.
Gai's mouth drops open as Milly reveals the Secret Obstacle Course up her metaphorical sleeve "how did - the level of engineering required - the EXPENSE involved - how - "
"S'fuckin' Britannians, ain't it?" Go snorts. "Blowing so much cash like it's casual. YOU GOT THIS, SHO!" He yells down to the arena. "STICK IT IN 'ER EYE!" Who let this monkey into the stands?
Just managing to hear Go yelling over the din, Sho grins and throws him a thumbs-up as she watches the arena change. "Put it all together, huh? Makes sense." She rolls her shoulders and cracks her knuckles. "Let's do this, then." She heads towards the Tendus, ready to give the ancient wanzer a better showing this time around!
<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.
APPROXIMATELY SIX WEEKS AGO:
"Mr. Sagara," says Atsunobu Hayashimizu, behind a folding paper fan that says something the subtitles translate as 'CONTAIN AND CONTROL.' "Do you recall the...episode, with your festival gate?"
"Affirmative, sir," Sousuke says, standing at parade rest in the Jindai Student Council room. The only inhabitant other than the two men is Ren Mikihara, Hayashimizu's everpresent aide and the Student Council Secretary. "Have there been further complaints?"
"Oh, no, Mr. Sagara," President Hayashimizu says, flipping his fan closed. "Quite the opposite, in fact, The Student Council President of Ashford Academy, Milly Ashford. She saw your work that day and was quite impressed. She's put forward an project she'd like us to complete as part of Jindai's hosting of the Millympic Games, and requested you personally to oversee it. I agree with the recommendation."
He pushes a manilla folder across his desk. "Sir," Sousuke acknowledges, then steps forward to retrieve the documents, reviewing them quickly. "Ambitious...but I see how it would be difficult for most students to execute such a bold approach. The need for secrecy in particular will be challenging."
He looks over the documents at Hayashimizu, steel grey eyes firm, and bobbing with his nod. "I'll see it done."
Hayashimizu smiles, then hides the lower portion of his face behind his paper fan, the kanji of which now translate to 'EXTREME SAFETY HAZARD.'
IN THE PRESENT:
"Ah," Sousuke says, as the athletic field obstacle course yawns open and exposes a second, larger athletic field obstacle course. He's smiling with pride, for some reason. "I was wondering when this would come into play." He turns to address Sho, nodding firmly. "Good hunting, Captain. You'll find it challenging, but well within your abilities."
<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.
Gemini sighs as she beholds the true final competition. Boy, these Britannians sure had a lotta money, huh? They'd be right at home with all the Neo-Americans...
"Give 'em heck, Sho!"
KTS: Sheryl Nome has deployed in RK-92 Savage. KTS: Neo Getter Team has deployed in Tendus. <Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Alouette is a bit nervous too but... "Surely they expected the suits to get a bit of a thrashing though.. I don't think that's our fault."
And then she feels the earth shake below her feet, almost thinking it's an earthquake for a moment. She quickly regains her footing by positioning herself upwards with Yuta's hand. "Thanks, Yu-"
An entirely new obstacle course that looks to be much more challenging arises from the ground just as fast. "Of course... it isn't over yet." She isn't very surprised that Ashford has another trick up their sleeve.. it almost felt too simple up to this point.
Yuta looks nervous as it seems Rikka will be representing their team, barely getting a break from her last round. "We need to believe in Rikka," Alouette nods, resolutely. Trying to recite one of the Brave's mottos, she calls out to Rikka along with Yuta. "Rikka! Believe in the courage in your heart, you can do it!" Dramatic, sure, but it's full of spirit. That's what she needs.
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
Amazingly, despite every reason why Kallen might have been able to hear about this event ahead of time? ...Nope. She didn't. She's completely blindsided by this event. As such, it takes her a moment to catch up to Rin. But eventually. She'll get there. "Uhhhhh...!? The hell is this? How much budget did we spend on making THIS THING!?"
It takes a moment to cool off after that. But at least her self-negativity is on the backburner as a result. "Y'know what? Fair. We'll figure out self-improvement routines after this."
KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad has deployed in Deculture Festival MR-1. KTS: Armor of the Week has deployed in Deculture Festival MR-1. KTS: Rapid_Reaction_Squad has deployed as a Boss for 20 opponents. KTS: Kaiju Navi has deployed in Deculture Festival MR-1. KTS: Kaiju_Navi has deployed as a Boss for 20 opponents. KTS: Armor_of_the_Week has deployed as a Boss for 20 opponents. KTS: Neo Getter Team targets Kaiju Navi with MULS-P Machine Gun Maneuver Shot! KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to evade Neo Getter Team's MULS-P Machine Gun Maneuver Shot, taking 6180 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Neo Getter Team's Sho's Mastery activates, causing Sparkle! KTS: Rikka Takarada targets Armor of the Week with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Sheryl Nome targets Rapid Reaction Squad with Loginov BK-545 37mm Rifle Maneuver Shot! KTS: Armor of the Week successfully evades Rikka Takarada's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad fails to Evade Sheryl Nome's Loginov BK-545 37mm Rifle Maneuver Shot, taking 3920 damage! KTS: Rikka Takarada targets Armor of the Week with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Armor of the Week successfully evades Rikka Takarada's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Attune Spirit Command. KTS: Rikka Takarada targets Armor of the Week with ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot! KTS: Armor of the Week fails to evade Rikka Takarada's ExAMACS Machine Gun Shot, taking 2880 damage! KTS: Rikka Takarada targets Armor of the Week with ExAMACS Shield Bash! KTS: Armor of the Week successfully evades Rikka Takarada's ExAMACS Shield Bash KTS: Rikka Takarada targets Armor of the Week with ExAMACS Shield Bash! KTS: Neo Getter Team has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Armor of the Week fails to evade Rikka Takarada's ExAMACS Shield Bash, taking 2560 damage! KTS: Rikka Takarada has engaged Armor of the Week! KTS: Neo Getter Team targets Kaiju Navi with MULS-P Shield Bash! KTS: Kaiju Navi successfully evades Neo Getter Team's MULS-P Shield Bash KTS: Neo Getter Team has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Neo Getter Team has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Neo Getter Team targets Kaiju Navi with MULS-P Shield Bash! KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to evade Neo Getter Team's MULS-P Shield Bash, taking 4500 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Neo Getter Team's Sho's Mastery activates, causing Sparkle! KTS: Neo Getter Team has engaged Kaiju Navi! <Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
Emilia pauses at Kallen's question. "I th-th-think it was... eighteen p-percent of the sh-shared budget?" She pauses. She's pretty sure that's what 'Sundries (Jindai)' was used for. Milly had provided the receipts in a vague manner that was nonetheless legal and there was a lot on their plates.
KTS: Sheryl Nome targets Rapid Reaction Squad with Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer No-Discharge Swing! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad successfully Evades Sheryl Nome's Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer No-Discharge Swing KTS: Sheryl Nome targets Rapid Reaction Squad with Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer No-Discharge Swing! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad successfully Evades Sheryl Nome's Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer No-Discharge Swing KTS: Sheryl Nome targets Rapid Reaction Squad with Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer No-Discharge Swing! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad fails to Evade Sheryl Nome's Zeya B3M HEAT Hammer No-Discharge Swing, taking 4000 damage! KTS: Sheryl Nome has engaged Rapid Reaction Squad! KTS: Armor of the Week targets Rikka Takarada with Triathlon Assault Launcher Burst! KTS: Rikka Takarada fails to retreat. KTS: Rikka Takarada fails to evade Armor of the Week's Triathlon Assault Launcher Burst, taking 4680 damage! KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Neo Getter Team with Triathlon Assault Launcher Burst! KTS: Armor of the Week targets Rikka Takarada with Triathlon Assault Launcher Burst! KTS: Rikka Takarada fails to retreat. KTS: Rikka Takarada fails to evade Armor of the Week's Triathlon Assault Launcher Burst, taking 3900 damage! KTS: Armor of the Week targets Rikka Takarada with Triathlon Assault Launcher Burst! KTS: Neo Getter Team retreats from the attack! KTS: Neo Getter Team fails to evade Kaiju Navi's Triathlon Assault Launcher Burst, taking 4290 damage! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 710. KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has disengaged. KTS: Rikka Takarada blocks Armor of the Week's Triathlon Assault Launcher Burst, taking 4290 damage! KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad targets Sheryl Nome with Triathlon Assault Launcher Burst! KTS: Sheryl Nome has activated the Foresee Spirit Command. KTS: Sheryl Nome retreats from the attack! KTS: Sheryl Nome successfully evades Rapid Reaction Squad's Triathlon Assault Launcher Burst KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Neo Getter Team has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Neo Getter Team targets Kaiju Navi with MULS-P Machine Gun Blitz! KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Rikka Takarada targets Armor of the Week with ExAMACS Bazooka Barrage! KTS: Armor of the Week blocks Rikka Takarada's ExAMACS Bazooka Barrage, taking 6490 damage! KTS: Kaiju Navi blocks Neo Getter Team's MULS-P Machine Gun Blitz, taking 7260 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Neo Getter Team's Sho's Mastery activates, causing Sparkle! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 178560 KTS: Sheryl Nome has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Sheryl Nome targets Rapid Reaction Squad with Hammer Time! KTS: Sheryl Nome enervates Rapid Reaction Squad, reducing its Morale significantly. KTS: Rapid Reaction Squad fails to react to Sheryl Nome's Hammer Time, taking 6720 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Sheryl Nome's Be Grateful! activates, causing Deject! KTS: Sheryl Nome has engaged Rapid Reaction Squad!
<Pose Tracker> Kaiju Navi has posed.
Sho -- already with a head start -- gets an absolutely enormous early lead, pressing through the first section of the E-milly-nator by toppling the 'log' neatly and speeding right along it, booking it through the first section at the zero-second mark, with the other competitors just leaving the starting gate. Rikka struggles here, conversely, only managing to make it through at the 15 second mark, with Sheryl having a 10-second lead and making it across the beam at the five second mark.
The second round starts to swing the other way, though. Rikka makes up a few valuable seconds, matching pace with Sho (albeit from a fair distance behind). Sheryl struggles with this, conversely, and things start to even out a fair amount... at least, until Sheryl joins Sho in absolutely blowing through the retreat segment, weaving through crash foam like it's second nature, whereas it's Rikka's turn to get barraged.
The decommissioned Type-61s (this is the case where it's actual ordnance, too -- a literal explosive finish! ... there's a reason they're positioned in the middle of a long tunnel. The reason is liability.) present the final obstacle. ... it isn't really an obstacle; all three competitors blow it away easily.
Sho finishes the entire course at the *45 second* mark, absolutely blowing away Ashford Academy's secret pace car testing from Enduro even with the 5-second head start not accounted for and putting 10 points up on the scoreboard for Jindai. Sheryl *still* beats Enduro's best time with a 55-second finish, and *also* puts up 10 points. Rikka takes one minute 10 seconds to get through the overall course, despite an absolutely explosive performance (heh) at the end -- on pace with the slowest Ashford pace attempt (Psyche's), earning 7 points for Tsutsujidai High School.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
While the Mihoshi Tri-Stars didn't win, at this point, Sheryl wasn't expecting that. It's enough for her that she had a dazzling showing in this final secret round--maybe not enough to make first, what with the struggle she had with the second round, but certainly enough to put ten points on the board. As Alto said, if anyone could lose in style, it's her. And it is her. She can take a sort of satisfaction in that.
Next time, she'll do better, though. She's not about to forget the bitter sting of frustration, and she'll use that--both in her piloting and her performing!
When Sheryl emerges from the Armor Slave, she waves to the crowds, then jogs back to Alto and Ranka with a grin. Once she's close enough, she flips her ponytail and boasts, "See? I told you I could do it with style! Now how about that tea?"
Even before the announcements are done?!
<Pose Tracker> Neo Getter Team has posed.
Speed, precision and grace - all three are Sho's specialties, and after her first go in the Tendus she's much more familiar with the old wanzer's movement habits and how best to optimise its weight distribution. The beam is knocked down with a leaping shot, the Tendus landing on the beam just half a second after it falls into place. The moving target is a lot less inclined to be easy to hit, but a quick lean and pivoting with the shield she's ramming with lets her maintain her lead.
Crash foam explodes around her and Sho chooses to go up and over to proceed with another mighty leap from the Tendus, positioning it to take a strategic midair hit that serves to push her further along the course, directly towards the Type-61! She doesn't let up, leaning on the accelerator and the trigger with equally intense pressure, the wanzer screaming right through the explosion and out the other side!
Win or lose, she's cheering when she pops the canopy, absolutely thrilled by the experience.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
The E-Milly-nator... is tough. It's a different kind of experience than what Rikka is used to, and it shows - she's used to fighting kaiju, not reacting to human opponents. It's a very different sort of skillset and experience. She can blow things up well enough, but everything else...
In the end, she comes solidly in last in the E-milly-nator. Rikka rests her head against the Alto's console for a moment, shutting her eyes. ...She's a little disappointed in her performance, but at least it confirms what she thought - she needs to work on her piloting skills. She can't rely on Gridman and the NGHJS forever - at some point she's going to have to learn how to stand on her own. This was good practice, but it's just the start.
...Well, whatever. Rikka exhales, opens her eyes, and takes a moment to smack her cheeks to wake herself up and shake those thoughts from her head. There'll be time to sulk on her own later - this is still a public event, and she was up against some really good pilots. After all, she was up against Sheryl, of all people, her idol, and while she doesn't know Sho she'd be lying if she said she didn't seem super-cool just from what she's seen of her during this competition - and the sheer speed of her completion time speaks for itself when it comes to her talent.
Rikka emerges from her Alto, putting on a smile and applauding.
"Wow, I'm floored... you two were amazing. Congratulations!" Rikka cheers for Sheryl and Sho both.
She sends a smile toward Yuta and Alouette, too - in hopes of reassuring them that she's doing okay.
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
After a culturally acceptable amount of hooting and hollering, Milly takes the megaphone one last time. "All right, everyone! Our lovely Nina Einstein," a point with the crop in her direction, "has tabulated all the results! Take it away, Nina!"
Nina had not expected to be doing any Speaking.
"W-well... in first place... with a total event point score of 34.07 out of 40 -- Akai Jindai is your winners," she says, not sounding super happy about it. "Tsutsujidai Alliance takes second place with a 32.81... a-and the Mihoshi Tri-Stars take third place with 30.67 points."
Milly takes over for her, having gotten the numbers. "You hear that, folks? That's definitely going to make a few clubs at Jindai happy! Tsutsujidai Alliance's individual-rounds performances are worth a special shout-out, too -- but that irrepressible Tsutsujidai spirit isn't the kind of thing you reward with just cash."
Her lips turn up in a smirk. "That's why I'm announcing that Tsutsujidai High School will be the hosts for, at their option, either the GUTS Spring Sports Festival next March or next year's Summer Deculture Festival!"
Milly's tone gets a little serious. "This kind of event can't just be about Ashford Academy and it can't just be about competing for club budgets. That kind of thing is fun, and I love seeing you guys go for it! But I'm not going to be the kind of person who lets her school sit at the head of the table forever, and I'm really not going to be the kind of person who's cynical enough to think everything has to be motivated by playing you guys against each other for budget scraps. You'll have all the time in the world to head out into that world after graduation, if that's the world you want to be in."
"We're in the summer of our youth -- literally! It's -- really hot out, actually, how do you Tokyo kids even stand this --"
She laughs at herself a little, saying, "Honestly, though: good luck to Tsutsujidai with hosting the next event, and a big, GUTSy congratulations to Jindai High School for sending us off with a bang!"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
-=-=-
In spite of herself, Akane cheers hard for Tsutsujidai -- and them coming in individual first place and overall second is a big round of excitement. If the circumstances hit just right... she actually can have fun with this kind of stuff, even if she overthinks it and resents it going in.
At the announcement, though...
"Hey, that sounds kind of fun," Marusan says. "It's a good excuse to get out of town... maybe Ako and I will stay overnight with the Ashford kids or something, if she hits it off with Shirley. Do you want to come, Akane?"
With a strained laugh, Akane concedes, "I... I'm kind of a tired old lady. No Earth trips for me. Tell Rikka, Alouette, and Hibiki they did a good job, okay? I actually kinda need a nap. Thanks for holding up the screen though!"
-=-=-
The mysterious pinkhair in the stands has slipped off, at this point. It would not do to get spotted while she's trying to go incognito.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Yuta holds his breath while Rikka makes her way through the course. Despite struggling earlier, they still come in second place! Cheering, he beckons to Alouette, running out to meet Rikka once again.
"That was so cool! The way you blasted that last obstacle apart in one hit!" Yuta laughs, beaming. "You're the best leader we could've asked for, Rikka. Thank you for letting us compete with you."
Quieting down for the announcements, Yuta's mouth drops open when Tsutsudijai is announced as the next host. "Is that something we can do? Is that... safe?" He murmurs to himself, thinking of Akane's reaction to the school festival. This would be even more people coming in. "I don't know if our trick will work twice."
Oh well. They could worry about that later. "W--well!" Yuta says, with a somewhat wobbly smile. "I'm really proud of how we did! You two were absolutely amazing! Let's do our best to put on a good show for everyone..!"
"Damn." Vit says, sinking into his seat a little more. "So close, too."
"Hah?" Borr looks up at him, a smirk on her face. "How much'd ya lose, Vit?"
Vit mumbles something, covering his face. Calibur, standing behind his three companions, steps forward to pat Vit on the shoulder. "I -- I don't see the point of money. It's fine."
Max looks disapproving, but chooses not to needle Vit about it now. "The children still did a great job. Winning their individual rounds, and being chosen for the next event's host. We have our work cut out for us. No slacking off now, everyone."
"Yeah, yeah." Borr says. "They did pretty great." He takes in a deep breath, then shouts, "HEY! YOU KIDS DID PRETTY GREAT!"
<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.
Gemini is hooting and hollering, picking up Sho and carrying her on her shoulders as soon as she gets close. "We did it! Let's go Jindai!"
The cowgirl starts to parade Sho around despite whether she wants to or not, pumping her fist and cheering her poor throat out. "We're the best, and don't y'all forget it!"
====
"Oh, the rest of the Revue is going to be so happy! ...Mr. Sunnyside, what are you doing on your phone?"
Mr. Sunnyside freezes and turns the screen away from Ratchet, trying to keep her from seeing the betting screen. "Oh, nothing. Let's just say Miss Sunrise has earned herself a pretty decent bonus."
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
The E-Milly-nator round gives Jindai the edge in points to reach first place, but Tsutsujidai still makes second.
As Rikka returns, she looks absolutely exhausted but she still smiles, and Alouette offers a smile back so as to show she is not by any means disappointed in her. "You did your best Rikka, and you never gave up.. that's the best we can ask of you." With that, they announced Tsutsujidai is to be hosting the next event as a result of their second place. "You get to host the next event, huh... I hope I can make it to more next time. It's our perfect opportunity to hang out."
She doesn't mention Akane herself, but she grimly nods at Yuta's point. Maybe by then Akane's heart will be healed.. but would Tsutsujidai even exist anymore? It's a problem for later.
The Neon Genesis High School Students congratulate them from the crowd, and Alouette enthusiastically waves back at them.
Alouette is exhausted and hot, but she had a surprisingly, very good time. Perhaps the Deculture Festival wasn't "all misery" for her, after all.
Eventually the crowd begins to dwindle, and the event comes to its conclusion. "Yuta, Rikka, I think it's about time I head back to the base... Hana's probably waiting for me." Waving goodbye as she begins to stroll away, she adds, "I'll keep in touch!"
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
<poem> Rikka moves to rejoin Yuta and Alouette. Their support... it counts for a lot. She brightens, just a little, as they both give her words of encouragement.
"It wasn't that impressive..." Rikka replies, as Yuta comments how cool it was that she blasted the tank away in one shot. She does look a little pleased, though. She shakes her head, then. "I should be thanking both of you. I'm... really glad you accepted me as your captain. Thanks - you were both incredible out there."
And then, an announcement is made! Tsutsujidai will get to host a GUTS festival of their choosing!
"Yeah, that would be great!" She says. "Here's hoping."
Yuta makes a good point and Rikka frowns, just a little. Akane... what would she think about this?
"...Yeah. That's a good point. We'll... have to think about how to approach this." Rikka replies with a nod.
...But, she can put that behind her for now, because she can hear Borr cheering them on from the crowd. Rikka turns, waving back at them - and by extension, the rest of the Neon Genesis Junior High School Students.
It'll be fine. She can just appreciate the moment, for now.